Welcome Home, Child of the Sea
by thewibblywobblywolf
Summary: Death is a funny thing. You never really know what to expect. Will you reunite with your loved ones? Will you be condemned or privilegied for your actions in life? What will you do once you die? This fic explores the possibility of a life after death and what it will permit our favourite pirates to do. No pairings. The characters changes every chapter. Series of separate one-shots.
1. Marco

Marco

When Marco dies he is one hundred and seven years old. He is very old in the eyes of civilians and ancient by pirate standards - for pirates are known for dying young. It's been nearly six decades since the War of the Best and Marco doesn't look a day older on the outside. But inside he is tired. He's grown weary with the world since his father died along with Ace and so many of his other shipbrothers. It's been over two decades since he left the New Whitebeard Pirates - named in honor of Edward Newgate and originally led and crewed by his old sons and daughters - to let the youngsters have their rein over the seas.

At this point Haruta is the only one of the Division Commanders from the original Whitebeards left, and Marco feels old. He still visits, of course. Because even though most of his original family is gone they're still his family. But for the most part he travels solo. And that's how he dies.

He dies of drowning, of all things. But it's not really of all things becasue since Marco ate his blasted Devil Fruit the sea has been the only thing that can kill him. Even though he for the most part has avoided it with a simple flap of his wings he can't this time because the Bounty Hunters who had ambushed him had placed him in Sea Stone chains. Marco doesn't mind awfully much. It saddens him that he didn't have the chance to take farewell of his remaining family, but that's alright.

He doesn't pray. He has never believed in any god and he's not about to start just because he's dying. It hurts more than he'd imgained though. He hasn't truly felt physical pain like this since he was twenty-one, before he ate the Phoenix Fruit. Though it does come pretty close to the pain he felt after the reality of both Oyaji, Ace, Thatch and numerous of his other brothers and sisters being dead hit him.

His lungs are burning from lack of oxygen and dark spots are appearing before his eyes. He feels numb. His limbs can't even trash as they so urge to do because the sea has him completely paralyzed. He's sinking. Huh, guess the sea truly does hate Devil Fruit Users. It feels like he's being swallowed by the deeps on which he has lived most of his life. He truly does live and die by the sea, doens't he?

He forces his head to tilt upwards to take a last look at the sun. It's nothing but a white blur to him anymore. He closes his eyes. There's no need to keep them open now. He feels like he is slipping away. What feels like minutes pass but he is still there in the dark, aware as ever. His eyes open again. The sun is still there but it's not getting smaller anymore. Instead it's getting bigger, closer. Suddenly his limbs don't feel paralyzed anymore and he moves them experimentally, they work.

His lungs however are still burning and he hurries to start kicking towards the surface. He doesn't have time to wonder how or why he still feels so alive and instead he just moves.

He finally breaks the surface. The deep breath of air he inhales must be the sweetest breath he has ever drawn.

Marco looks around him and is shocked to the point that he nearly goes under the surface again when he notices the humongous ship bare yards away. A shout from the ship brings him out of his daze however.

"Man overboard!" he hears and the voice sounds so much like Thatch that Marco almost chokes.

Three figures appear near the railing, gazing down at him curiously. He hears others too, but they're too far away for him to make out the looks of, saying things like 'another drowner, huh?' and 'maybe he just fell out of his boat?'. But his attention is soon drawn to the three by the railings when two of them lets out loud whoops of joy and the third drops a rope he'd been carrying previously. He goes under again when he hears the achingly familiar cries and sees the even more familiar figures and his legs stop working.

He immediately sinks like a stone and inhales a mouthful of salty sea water because his mouth had fallen open and forgotten to close. He hears a few panicked shouts above before the water splashes soundly a few feet away. Strong arms grab him around the middle and hoist him above the surface with practiced ease. Marco coughs heavily as his body attempts to rid itself of the sea water while his saviour pats him on the back a few times like he's used to it..

Marco looks down at his rescuer and of course it's Namur, he's had his fair share of saving drowing Devil Fruit Users in his days after all. The thing is that Namur died 49 years ago by the hand of of bigoted humans who had been taught to fear those they did not know and hurt that which they feared. There had been nothing but blood and ashes left of those people when the Whietbeards were odne with them. So maybe Marco really is dead after all.

Namur grins at him. To anyone else it would probably look really bloody scary but to Marco it feels more like coming home because it's Namur and they haven't seen each other in nearly half a century.

"Welcome to the afterlife, Marco," he's told before the fishman starts a steady backstroke towards the great ship. It's even bigger than the Moby Dick and Marco wonders idly if it's to accomodate to the crew of the New Whitebeard Pirates when they inevitably die. He looks towards the stern in hopes of catching the name of this new ship and almost laughs when he spots the words Moby Dick II written neatly there.

It doesn't even take them a minute to reach Moby Dick II. Namur is fast, he's always been. Someone throws a rope and and they climb up quickly. The motion is familiar and easy, despite the fact that he feels oddly weak but at the same time stronger than before. He does feel strange, like something is missing even though everything he could ever miss (except maybe Haruta and the New Whitebeard Pirates) is on the ship he's just boarded. He doesn't get a moment more to mull this over, however, as he is thrown to the deck by a body as soon as his dripping wet shoes touch the wooden boards.

The person on top of him is small, surprisingly strong and - judging by the small lumps in the chest area - female. He looks down and is met with a head of red that he knows went grey two decades ago. And now he's really confused because he'd thought that he was dead but now a woman he knows to be alive is lying on top of him. How she managed to live to be so old is beyond him and another question in and of itself, though. He's always blamed it on her being too stubborn to die.

"Haruta?" he finally manages at last after a moment of silent musings. Because that's clearly who it is, it can't be anyone but the former 12th Division Commander.

"Marco, I'm so glad! I was afraid you were gonna have to live another hundred years with no one but the rookie brats to keep you company," she tells him happily and it sounds funny coming from her mouth because it seems to him like she's reversed back to the same brat she was when their family was still whole, both on the inside and the outside.

"Haruta, that's rude!" a voice admonishes from somewhere to his left, "the man just died, you're supposed to offer your condolences or something!" the voice continues and earns a few chuckles from all around as Haruta sits up - now straddling Marco's chest - and looks at the speaker with a pout.

"Hush you, you're just as happy that he's here as I am," she responds and sticks out her tongue.

Marco has during all of this been staring uncharacteristically dumbfoundedly at Haruta, trying to make sense of everything happening. Maybe he is dreaming? For how else could both Haruta and Namur and the voice of Thatch be here?

When he finally regains his voice Haruta is still bantering with the one who'd admonished her and seems to have forgotten that she's currently sitting on Marco's chest. He clears his throat and gives the young-but-actually-old commander a pointed look when she turns her gaze down to him. She gives him a malicious grin but gets of him all the same and allows him to sit up.

Before he's even had the chance to move to stand however he finds a familiar hand stuck in his face as an offer of help. He grabs the hand without hesitation and allows himself to be hoisted to his feet and into the embrace of Thatch. His friend - his brother - squeezes him tight for a moment before pulling back with a grin.

"Finally! We've been waiting for you forever, Marco!" He exclaims happily and Marco can't help but agree becasue suddenly he feels every single day spent without his brothers painstakingly clearly.

"So have I, yoi," he answers somberly.

"Oi Pineapple Head, wipe that mopey look of your face, you're here now!" a cheerful voice pipes up from behind. None of his former annoyance at the nickname Thatch and Ace had given him surfaces. Instead a wave of nostalgia rushes over him and he turns to greet Ace with a lazy smile that once had seemed permanent on his face but had faded into a blank look years ago.

"There we go!" Ace grins back and wraps an arm around Marco's shoulder the same way Marco once had done when congratulating the younger man on becoming 2nd Division Commander.

Now that he's been released Marco finally has the chance to take a look around. The new ship looks just like the first Moby Dick and has nearly the same feeling to it as well, the feeling of home. But that's not what makes him the happiest at all, for around him is his family, and that makes him happier than anything else. There's Jozu, now with both of his arms back and his previously white hair dark again. There's Izo who looks younger and more beautiful than Marco has seen him in a long time. There's Blamenco with all his teeth again, though with a strange absence of pockets anywhere. Every single one of his brothers and sisters look younger and healthier than ever. Oddly enough Marco is sure that Thatch's crescent moon scar is still there.

Izo spots the confused look on his face and understands and hurries to explain everything;

"When we die we are all reversed to our prime condition, the way we were in our glory days, if you will. If there is a scar or mark that you've regretted having, or a limb you're missing, then that thing will return to the way it should be."

"That's why I've still got my scar, and Oyaji has most of his and and some others are missing," Thatch adds.

"But you don't need to be restored 'cause of your Devil Fruit," Haruta pipes up with a mock frown.

"That's another thing, Devil Fruits respawn when their consumers die so we don't get to keep their powers here. We're just humans now, dead humans." Is the input Ace makes. The speech they make sounds well rehearsed, like they've had to explain this many times before and would be sighing at the repetition if it wasn't for their excitement. And that's probably true, Marco supposes, as he's far from the first to arrive on Moby Dick II.

Marco nods his understanding as he realises what the feeling that something is missing is. He is no longer Marco the Phoenix. Now he is just Marco. He's lived with the ability to transform any body part into that of a flaming bird for so long that it feels very strange now that it's gone. He has many times cursed the fact that his fruit up until now had refused to let him die and join his family, but he knows that he's going to miss his wings, talons and fire all the same.

Then another realisation hits him. If he is dead, what is Haruta doing here? He voices this question to his family.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Commander shrieks in answer earning quite a few chuckles from the crowd.

"You're supposed to be alive! You were just as energetic as you always are last time I saw yo-"

Before Haruta can answer and before Marco can even finish his question they are interrupted by a rumbling voice.

"Are you brats going to stand around chatting all day or are we going to welcome Marco to the ship?" Marco almost cries in joy when he hears the voice of Whitebeard - Oyaji - carry over the crowd.

Realisation seems to sweep over the crowd and a few even slaps their faces when it does. His crewmates part like the Red Sea in order to let him approach the Chair. Marco smiles - grins even - when he lays eyes on his father. He has risen from his chair to greet Marco and Marco beams because even though his many scars remain there is no sign of medical equipment meant to keep him alive near Newgate or his chair, which means that he's completely healthy and looks younger than he has in a long time.

Marco rushes forward as quickly as he can while keeping his dignity intact and Newgate lowers to one knee to embrace him. His hands are big and warm on Marco's back and he feels like crying again because he is home.

It doesn't take more than a few moments after they part before someone cheers and someone else shouts happily about having a party to celebrate.

Marco looks up to meet his father's eyes and says;

"I'm home, Oyaji."

"Welcome home, my son," Whitebeard answers.

**AN: Well... I hope that didn't go too horribly. I will most likely turn this into a series of one-shots placed in the same Universe in which random characters of my pick go through what Marco just did. That is to say, dying, reminiscing a bit, have a few discoveries about death and meet someon they knew in life. Who they meet will vary greatly depedning on when in their life I decide to kill them off (mwuhahaha) and some won't even know the characters they come across. I will try to keep it from being too repetetive as well as I can. It will not, I repeat, not be in chronological order. As a matter of fact this will most likely be the last one, chronologically. Regular updates are not to be expected as I work best when inspiration hits, and that's hard to force for me. But I will try to update often.**

**Thanks for reading!**

Next up: Luffy


	2. Luffy

**AN: That was quicker than I'd thought.**

Luffy

When Luffy dies he is forty-three years old. It's an acceptable age to die at according to pirate standards, so Luffy is fine with it (not that he's ever needed anyone's approval anyways). He has accomplished his dream and seen the dreams of all his friends accomplished. He dies as the Pirate King and as the Captain of the Greatest Swordsman in the World, a doctor who can cure any disease, the woman who made a map of the world, the woman who found the true history, the man who built the Thousand Sunny, a man who always keeps his word, the cook who found All Blue and a brave man of the sea.

As he mounts the execution stand he does not worry about them. He knows they will be fine, more than fine, they'll be great. And so will Sabo and Gramps and his dad - whom he's only ever met twice - , and so will every other friend Luffy has ever made because they know just as well as he does that one day they will meet again.

He dies, like every other man or woman who carries the Will of D, with a smile on his face. Luffy is executed by the marines after turning himself in. The marines, of course, doesn't let the rest of the world know that the Pirate KIng turned himself in. Instead they tell the world of Admiral 'White Hunter' Smoker who captured the new most wanted man in the world.

He leaves the world with parting words that go down in history telling of how the Pirate King is the one with the most freedom in the world, and those who want to be free will find their freedom at sea, because that's where the free people live.

The world will later do as Luffy intended and a third age of pirates will begin, now with people seeking the freedom Luffy had had. But something else will happen as well. Monkey D. Luffy's execution is the event that spurs the Revolutionary Army into action, led by a father and a brother coping with loss but extremely capable none the less. The World Government is toppled and an era of freedom and peace takes the place of the old one.

Those who only knew Luffy on the surface knows him to be a goofball and desperately wonder how he could ever become King. The ones who truly know him notice the way his eyes seek them out and ensures that they are alright while he speaks his last words, and not one of them is left out or forgotten by the time the executioners move and Strawhat Luffy, the King of the Pirates die.

At first it is dark. Luffy feels like he is floating. It's a strange feeling, but not unfamiliar. He knows the feeling of floating just before he starts falling from the many times he has recklessly thrown himself into the air.

But the falling never starts. He just floats in darkness until he suddenly lands softly. He lands against rough wooden planks. When he opens his eyes it is to see the clear blue sky and, strangely, a whole flock of seagulls circling above him. Luffy counts them idly, there are thirteen of them.

He closes his eyes for a moment beofre he sits up and places his hand on his hat. He lets out a surprised noise and takes the hat off his head. It's the same straw hat that Shanks gave him so long ago when he was just a weak kid with a big dream and a Devil Fruit. The sight of this hat however is so familiar yet out of place that he grins, because this hat always seems to come back.

What befuddles him though, is that he gave this hat to an eight year old child he met in West Blue three years ago. A child who had showed promise, determination and a yearning for freedom and adventure. At that point it had been years since he reunited with Shanks and proved his worth as a pirate. But his hero had given the hat back, saying to do what Shanks himself had done, and give it to a person he believed would go farther than anyone else. So Luffy had.

When Luffy has finished chuckling at the peculiarities of life - and death - he takes a proper look at his surroundings and finds that he's sitting in a small rowboat. The very same rowboat, he notices, that he first set sail from Dawn Island in. There's even a barrel sitting opposite of him, hopefully containing food of some sort, preferably meat. The only other things besides himself and the barrel is a pair of oars lying ready by his side.

He ignores the oars and bounces up to start inspecting the barrel that possibly contains his only food source, depending on whether there's any fish in these waters and whether he's got the possibility to cook said fish. But just as he's about to tear into the poor unsuspecting barrel a huge shadow falls over Luffy's little boat.

He immediately looks up to investigate the mystery shadow and is met witha huge ship with two handsomely carved mermaids holding up the mouth of a cannon for a figurehead. His eyes lights up because he's found people and whether they're nice or not doesn't matter because it will guaranteedly be an adventure.

A man with a really cool moustache and a red coat is standing by the railing, gazing down at Luffy curiously.

"Lost?" he asks casually.

"Probably," Luffy answers and laughs, "I think I just died, but it's okay becasue this it's a new adventure."

Moustache-man laughs too and nods his approval, "that's just the right attitude you've got there kid!" Luffy doesn't know why everyone still insits on calling him kid, even though he's over forty years old and has become King of the Seas and the Pirates.

Then moustache-man's eyes fall on Luffy's chest and he instinctively knows that the stranger is looking at his scar. The man looks up again and meets his eyes. The look in his eyes is serious but inquiring and he asks a question that is unexpected but not.

"Are you proud of that scar?" he asks. Luffy takes a moment to ponder the question, unlike what he usually would, because it's an important question. Despite this he already knows the answer, and maybe he just needed a moment to gather himself because an unbidden image of Ace's lifeless body came swooping through his mind the moment the question was asked.

"No," the man looks surprised and opens his mouth to ask yet another question but Luffy cuts him off, "I'm not proud of it, but it's still important. I treasure it, because it's a reminder."

"Would you mind me asking what it reminds you of?" the man asks politely even though it looks like he understands and Luffy gets the feeling that this man is not usually so courteous but knows that this is a serious subject.

"It's a reminder that my big brother loves me, and that I wasn't strong enough. It's reminded me why I have to keep getting stronger no matter what, for many years now," Luffy answers. A curious light has been lit in moustache-man's eyes and it's clear now that he understands.

"And why is that?" he asks with a tone that means that this is his last question. Luffy's face, which has gone unusually solemn, lights up into a bright grin.

"So that I can protect my nakama so I won't ever have to lose anyone ever again." The man is grinning now too.

"I like you, kid," he says, "join my crew, why don't you?" the words have barely left his mouth when another man appears at the railing with an exasperated look on his face.

"Who have you found to join the crew now, Roger?" he sighs with the air of a man who has lost control of his crazy brother, an air which Luffy knows well, having felt it around both his brothers and his crew before. The man has blond hair neatly slicked back on his head, a dark and strange stripe-like beard, round glasses, a scar over his left eyelid that Luffy knows to be from a particularily nasty fight in which a marine had nearly taken Shanks's head off. He knows this becasue there is no doubt in his mind that this is Silvers Rayleigh, the man who taught him everything he knows about Haki.

"Rayleigh!" he bursts out at the same time as Moustache-man - Roger, Rayleigh called him - turns to the Dark King.

"Ah Ray! This guy just turned up all of a sudden. I think the Reapers might be having some trouble with their paperwork again, thinking that I'm still captaining a Waiting Ship," Roger explains and Luffy doesn't really get what he's saying but that's alright, he'll probably find out later if it's important.

"Luffy-kun!" Rayleigh says, ignoring Roger in favor of focusing on his former student. He actually looks surprised, which suprises Luffy in turn because he doesn't think he's ever seen Rayleigh surprised.

A surprised look sweeps briefly over Roger's face at the revelation that Rayleigh and Luffy know eachother, but it passes within a moment in favor of excitement.

"You know each other?" He asks and if the excitement isn't clear enough in his eyes then it is definitely clear by his tone.

"Yes. This is the apprentice I told you about, Roger," Rayleigh confirms. He's got that familiar glint in his eyes that always means that he knows something you don't. A look that Luffy has seen far too many times to keep count of.

Roger the moustache-man's eyes lights up at this. "The one who's going to be King but isn't going to conquer anything?" He asks.

"That's exactly right, Captain," Rayleigh answers. Captain? Who was Rayleigh's Captain again? Memories of friends and enemies alike nearly fainting at the sound of Rayleigh's name flash before his eyes until the right one flashes by. ''Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh, the Pirate King's first mate!' The memory of Rayleigh himself talking of his Captain comes last and Luffy's jaw drops as realisation finally dawns. Anyone watching would definitely claim taht there were stars in his eyes. Rayleigh looks amused when Luffy's jaw drops, he probably knows that Luffy jsut had a minor epiphany.

"Hey, Moustache-man," Luffy calls, "Are you Gol D. Roger?" he asks and his excitement must be just as clear as Roger's.

The first Pirate King takes a moment to mumble about being called Moustache-man, stroking his impressive moustache proudly, before answering.

"Why yes, that is me. Heard of me, have you?" he says with a cocky grin.

"That's really cool! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the new King of the Pirates!" the stars have left Luffy's eyes now, but they continue to glimmer as he states his title proudly to his predecessor.

The hand twirling Roger's moustache stills and drops before his eyes bug out almost comically.

"Already?! I thought it'd be years yet before the next King showed up!" he exclaims, "And look at you, dying so young, are you really strong enough?" he seems to have lost some of his composure, if only slightly.

"Oi! I'm forty-three. I'm not a kid and I've been King for over twenty years now. And I'm definitely strong enough. I could beat you up for sure!" Luffy answers with confidence, slightly anffronted.

Roger must've seen something he'd been searching for, because he grins again, his composure suddenly regained.

"That's good! I would expect no less from my successor. And now I only have one question left for you former Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy; what will you do now? On these seas no one is King, pirate or not, and as you turned up here I'll bet that you don't have anyone particular waiting for you in death." His expression has turned serious and scrutinising.

"I'll go on an adventure, my nakama will come when they feel like it." Luffy answers simply.

He grins and waves goodbye before he takes up his oars to start rowing towards his next adventure. Rayleigh and Roger wave back and lets him go, even though they both look like they would've wanted to say more. That's okay though, 'cause he'll definitely see them again.

When Luffy later finds himself unable to stretch he is surprised to say the least, and even more surprised that he hadn't noticed until then. A very thorough explanation about death and this new sea later from an old man and Luffy finds himself knowing a bit more about his future. Not much, though. He still calls most peculiarities he happens upon mysteries.

He doesn't know much, but he knows that he's relied on his Devil Fruit for too long and that it now is time for him to gain some real strength. He procures a pipe similar to the one he used to fight with back when he was still a kid and playing pirate with his brothers and relearns how to fight. He still uses mostly his fist, because his punch is still strong as a pistol, but the pipe is handy.

He calls every adventure training and with time he grows strong enough to protect his friends again once they join him.

He visits old friends. Everywhere he goes there's always someone throwing a party, be it Roger, Shanks or Ace's crew. When he reunites with Ace they both bawl like crybabies and call each other out on it loudly, but no one cares because they're together again.

Luffy makes many new friends as well, but after a while he starts growing lonely. Being lonely is worse than getting hurt, which is why he cheers like a maniac when his crew rejoins him one by one.

Soon they're almost as infamous on this Pirates Graveyard as they were on the first one.

And Monkey D. Luffy is happy in death.

**AN:** **Wohoo Chapter 2! I'd just like to inform that it's likely that there probably are gonna be rather many chapters of this in which I will build up a little Universe with some weird rules and things such as Reapers and Waiting Ships. These things will all be explained in time, most likely in Roger's chapter, in case anyone was wondering about the weird concepts that I casually threw I there.**

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Roger


	3. Roger

**AN: this chapter contains a few curses, so I apologise if that offends you. However these are pirates we're talking about here, a bit of swearing is to be expected, no?**

**Roger**

When Roger dies he is forty-four years old. He's older than he expected to get when he set out to sea, and he has cherished the extra moments. The extra moments allowed him to protect his nakama just a little while longer, and to go out with the biggest bang yet.

He doesn't know what he expects from death. When he was little and had just learned the concept of death - empty eyes, slack jaw, so so still come back come back - he was terrified. Death was… stopping. One day you just stop everything you're doing, you leave people behind, just like ma did. Since then he has had time to dissuade his fears. He's had time to dream. And he has spent many nights in silence imagining that death is more than just stopping.

He's had his death planned since he found out about his disease. He refused to do any planning for the parts in between finding out and dying. The only plan he made was to turn the world on end, I want it topsy-turvy when I'm done, Nyahaha*. That was the only thing he'd planned and yet when he met Rouge he felt like he should've planned ahead a bit more, because this woman, this one simple woman - except she's not simple at all, she's amazing - makes him want to settle down and enjoy life at it's calmest and maybe live a little while longer when he wanted to live without regrets.

But Roger couldn't and wouldn't settle down anywhere, something Rouge knew and understood and agreed with, bless her heart. But that never stopped him from coming back to visit her, and nothing could make her stop him from coming, none of them wanted to stop. When she told him of their unborn child he was ecstatic and terrified and devastated. Because he wouldn't live to see their child born. And their child, their sweet innocent child, would be hunted by the world because it would be his and Rouge's child, and that devastated him.

Rouge made plans to prolong her pregnancy long enough so that no one could claim that their child was Roger's and Roger himself approached his greatest enemy - oddly he was also a close friend despite their many attempts at each other's lives - Garp. He asked his enemy and friend to take care of Rouge and the child for him. For a child is never responsible for the sins of his father. Garp's eyes had told of how he agreed with this and had sworn to protect Roger's child.

As such Roger is as content as a dying man can be when he approaches the execution platform on the other side of the town square. The walk is a bit nostalgic and quite bittersweet. He has spent many years running across this square, and all around Loguetown really, as a kid. He feels like he should be sort of honored though, the marines seem to have called in a chrous to sing while they make an example of him. They wouldn't do that for just any pirate.

The wind breezes through his hair as he mounts the platform and he hears a sea gull cry in the distance. It feels quite peaceful. He speaks to the crowd in a calm voice, speaks of will, destiny, dreams and freedom.

Then one of the executioners asks if he has any last words. He asks to be unshackled, the shackles are chafing quite annoyingly, after all. The man gives him an almost offended look and denies him vehemently. Roger sighs at his misfortune but still sits down in place like a good prisoner. Not that he's really considered himself a prisoner, he turned himself in after all. He tells them to get it over with already.

He spots quite a few of his old nakama in the crowd, Rayleigh is not among them. Roger didn't think that he would be. Several of them seem to be in despair while the others are putting up a brave front. There's Shanks in the corner of the crowd, clutching tightly at the worn straw hat Roger had given him. He hopes the boy won't be too sad. The former Captain grins a special, soft grin reserved for his crew only, and hopes they spot it.

A man in the crowd suddenly starts shouting, demanding that Roger tells where he has hidden his legendary treasure, his One Piece. Roger laughs loudly, just what he was waiting for.

He takes a deep breath and makes the declaration that will bring about a new age.

"My treasure?" the executioners shout and raise their nodachis when he speaks, "If you want it I'll let you have it. Go look for it. I left it all in that place."

The crowd is so silent you could probably hear a pin needle drop right across the square. He doesn't know if he's ever witnessed anything so silent. Whatever the case may be it's not the last thing he hears. The last thing is the executioner - again - shouting "Execute!"

The nodachis bear down on him, and thus Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates, dies.

At first it is just as dark and silent as Roger had always imagined as a child and suddenly he feels scared for the first time in a long time. Then he feels his boots touch wood and he hasn't been this relieved in even longer.

He opens his eyes even if he doesn't remember closing them. He is on a ship. He knew this before he opened his eyes by the familiar bobbing of the wood he was standing on, but confirmation is always a good thing.

It's a good ship. It's a decent size and made of good wood. He starts walking around deck to explore. Sturdy, he notes, pleased. It's a good ship, but he can't recall ever stepping foot on, or even seeing, a ship as plain as this one. The sails are pure white without a mark on them and there is no figurehead. Everything is made of the same dark wood. There isn't even a small carving in sight.

He feels a sudden pang of longing for his homey Oro Jackson, but squishes it as soon as it appears. There is no use in missing what he can't have. He should be thankful that death isn't as cold and dark as he'd imagined.

He feels the prescence before he hears the creaking of a wooden board behind him. He whips around, one hand on his sword and the other on his gun, ready to fire or strike at a less than a moment's notice.

There is a hooded figure standing behind him. It's cloak is long enough to graze the ground and has the same colour as the darkness Roger had just left.

"Who the hell are you?" the ex-Pirate King asks rudely as he fingers his gun threateningly. He's got a feeling that guns won't work at this person, whoever it is.

The figure lets out a long suffering sigh.

"Oi, oi, don't shoot the messenger of bad news, literally," whoever this person is they're too damn cheeky.

"And what would the bad news be then?" Roger's eyes are narrowed and his hands don't leave his weapons for even a moment.

"Well, they're not exactly bad, it really depends on whether you like people or not," the figure drawls. It's an awfully vague answer. Roger just glares at the stranger, urging him to continue. He's aware that he's acting very out of character, but dying has made him a bit more suspicious than usual.

"In which order do you want the news, good or bad first?"

"Let's start with the bad news, that way we can end on a high note, hopefully."

"Well, the bad news are that you're dead, surprise!" the figure sounds so sarcastic when he says the last word that Roger almost socks him. He doesn't know why but there is something about this person that pisses him off. Instead he settles on growling menacingly.

"The - hopefully - good news is that the big shot Reapers (a.k.a my bosses) have decided to assign you a Waiting Ship." Roger frowns in confusion. He has no idea about any of this 'Reaper' stuff, and Cloakie is talking like Roger should already know everything about the subject.

"And what, pray tell, is a 'Reaper' and a 'Waiting Ship'?" Roger asks testily. Cloakie snorts and mutters something anout novices under his breath before answering.

"The Reapers are the ones who maintains this world and graciously allow human souls to come here when they die. We sort you and divide you to the places you fit best, but usually give you the privilege to choose where you go yourselves." Cloakie really needed to get off his high horse.

"A waiting ship is a ship that houses dead pirates, sailors, marines and others who've devoted their lives to the sea who are waiting for their 'loved ones' to arrive so they can go off together. However, the waiting ships get full after a while, and we can't keep expanding them forever, so we have to build new ones. There are special Reapers who do nothing but build ships and houses for new arrivals. But the Waiting Ships need Captains. They need someone who can explain the afterlife to the ones who arrive and defend the ship when it's attacked." Loathe as he was to admit it Roger could actually see the sense in this. He still didn't let his expression slip and kept his body tense and ready for attack.

"The head-honchos chose you because; one, you've proved yourself capable of Captaining; two, your 'nakama' will most likely not arrive in quite a few years yet, so you need something to keep you busy, lest you decide to turn this world on it's end or something because you're bored; and finally three, I dunno if you've realised it, but your last words are going to start a new age. An age of piracy. Which means that a whole damn lot of people are gonna die, pirates, civilians and marines alike. And someone needs to take responsibility for the poor sods. Now you're one of the responsible ones." Cloakie finally seems to have finished and is somehow watching Roger expectantly from under his hood.

"How am I supposed to know what to tell the people who arrive, then?" He hopes to some god or other that he didn't really believe in that Cloakie wouldn't be staying to explain things to him first.

Cloakie's flowy robe billows out around him as he reaches far into the cloak to procure something that looks frighteningly like a manual or handbook of some sort.

"Everything you need to know is in here." Cloakie holds the book up smugly, displaying the title 'The Beginner's Guide to Ferrying Souls'. Great. He'll have to read and memorise that whole thing.

Roger accepts the book. When he takes it a strange feeling washes over him. He has a feeling that he just agreed to ferry souls for who knows how long.

"How long do I have to do this?" he asks after staring at the dark cover for a moment.

"At least ten years," Roger's eyes bugs out slightly at this, ten years is a long time, "but I have a feeling that you'll be doing it longer. I have a friend in the Prediction Department, where they predict when important humans are going to die, and according to her it's gonna be at least another twenty years before you crewmates starts arriving."

Roger's stomach sinks. Twenty years before he sees his nakama again, at least. Cloakie seems to take joy in Roger's despair, for he makes a sound that might indicate that he's grinning, though his face is still covered.

"You'll find an island to restock at a few hours North from here. There's a compass in the chart room. Have fun," Cloakie says gleefully before suddenly evaporating into a cloud of black smoke before Roger's eyes.

He stands there gaping for a few moments before he shakes his head and looks down at the manual. He wrinkles his nose and stuffs it into his red captain's coat. He better get to navigating if he doesn't want to starve. He's got a feeling that this ship isn't very well stocked.

The former Pirate King quickly locates the chart room and sets the course towards the island. He notes that he's esides food he's also in severe need of some maps and information. He takes his time to explore the ship. This is going to be his home for many years to come now, after all.

It takes a while but his first charge finally arrives one crisp morning. Roger has made land seven times by now, and has found some kind of adventure in between restocking on every one of them. He's also been reading his guide book diligently, awaiting the moment when he finally gets someone to travel with again.

The man appears in a dinghy and looks very surprised to find himself there. But that's to be expected. He's a rotund man and looks to be in his mid-thirties with a mane of dark hair on his head and a scar diagonally across his whole face. Roger throws him a rope and the man accepts gladly.

They make quick friends after Roger has explained what's going on and he has successfully taken in his first charge. The man, called Dareka Nicholas**, was sniper of a small crew and had died heroically in a battle against the marines. He decides to stay until his crew arrives, much like Roger expects most people to do.

Approximately two years have passed by when the first woman appears. Five more people have joined his ragtag crew of dead pirates by now. One of them is Scopper Gaban, one of Roger's old nakama. He is very glad that Cloakie's friend in the Prediction Department was wrong, even though he regrets that his friend had to die.

The newest guy, Nanika Maestro, leers down at the woman who is gazing calmly back up at him from her place in a slim dory***. When Roger spots her however his jaw drops and he lets out an unmanly squeak. For there is Rouge. His Rouge. The same emotions that he'd felt when she told him of her pregnancy rushes through him. He's ecstatic, terrified and devastated. He's ecstatic because she is here and somehow she's more beautiful than ever. He's terrified and devastated however because he knows that their son will now grow up an orphan. He has trust in Garp though, and hopes that will be enough.

When Rouge is back in Roger's arms later Gaban surreptitiously slaps Maestro becasue he's still leering lecherously at Rouge. He doesn't stop. One beatdown later Maestro swears to himself to never look twice at a woman Roger knew in life again.

Roger doesn't notice though, he's busy with his lovely Rouge and listening to her describe their beautiful son. He only hopes to meet him one day when their Ace has grown old and strong and lived for very long.

**AN: Soooo.. That's that. You can probably tell how much I used this for exposition xD. Most chapters that include Roger will probably tell you something more about how this world works. Roger is the character with the earliest death who will actually get his own chapter. The Rumbar Pirates might feature at some point but will not be getting their own schapter.**

***The slightly strange laugh I added for the part when Roger says 'he's going to turn the world on end' is actually his real laugh. I've done quite a bit of research on Roger for this chapter and this was what his laugh sounded like when Rayleigh joined him. So that's what I used.**

****Dareka Nicholas and Nanika Maestro are OCs. I made them up on the spot for the sake of plot. They will hold no real importance except as plot-devices. Scopper Gaban is actually not an OC. He was on Roger's crew and you can find his picture on the OP wikia. He might actually be alive, the only thing we know about him is his name and that he was part of Roger's crew.**

***** A dory is a kind of boat.**

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Ace


	4. Ace

Ace

When Ace dies he is twenty years old. He dies young according to every standard out there, he's young in the eyes of pirates, marines and civilians. He doesn't much care for what anyone thinks of his age, but even he himself expected to get to be at least thirty, even though he's the son of a devil with no right to live.

Ace is okay with dying, he accepted it the moment he stepped onto the execution platform. But that doesn't mean that he isn't angry. He's angry because Akainu - the bloody bastard - had the balls to badmouth Oyaji and tried to kill Luffy. Sweet, innocent Luffy who had really done nothing wrong and had come to save Ace - breaking into Impel Down in his attempt to do so. He's angry because they'd been so close to escaping, and because he'd died when he finally wanted to live. He's angry because so many of his brothers and sisters has died trying to save him. He's angry because he won't get to see Luffy fulfill his dream.

He's angry because despite his very best efforts to make the world see him the marines took that away with just a few words that revealed Ace's heritage, which means that he hasn't died a pirate in his own right, but he's died as the son of Gold Roger. He's angry because he's broken his promise to Luffy. He said he wouldn't die, and yet here he is. And most of all he's angry because he practically brought his death down on himself when he turned back to fight. But it's not in his nature to turn his back on a fight, ever. Especially when he knows that his precious baby brother can be killed at a moment's notice if Ace doesn't protect him.

But he's relieved too. He's relieved because Luffy will live. He's relieved that he's kept his promise to Sabo, take care of Luffy, protect him. He's relieved because despite so many of his friends - his family - dying, many of them are still going to live. He's relieved because he's finally realised. He's realised that there are people who love him. People who came to save him, and who continued fighting to save him even after the revelation of his heritage.

So he thanks them. In his final moments, moments spent in Luffy's arms, he thanks his family for loving him like they did and hopes that they will understand that the sentiment is mutual.

He doesn't feel any pain. He suspects that it might be the adrenaline. Or maybe it just hurts so much that he can't feel it. The majority of his organs are completely fried after all.

He never thought that he would be killed by fire. Not after surviving the fire of Grey Terminal, and not after eating the Mera Mera no Mi, but it seems that he is anyway.

He doesn't feel the pain, but he still feels the warmth of Luffy's arms around him. So he smiles because his brother is alright and because dying isn't so bad. Maybe he'll get to see Sabo? Maybe Thatch? What if he sees his mother?

'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace - not Gol D. , never Gol D. - smiles as he slips away from life forever.

The darkness feels familiar. It's the same darkness that nearly drowned him more times than he ever bothered to count when he was a kid and had just found out about his father. It's the feeling that would sweep over him after he'd beaten up a gang of thugs who had spoken of how the Pirate King's son should die and apologise for being born. It's the feeling that started to recede slightly when he found Sabo, that almost went away when he found Luffy, that he thought might be gone when they all became brothers. It's the feeling that kept him company many a night when he was hunting Blackbeard. It's loneliness and rage.

The darkness soon starts fading into another darkness, the simple darkness and lack of vision when you close your eyes. As it does he starts to regain feeling. He feels the warmth of the sun and the familiar material of Striker under his back. His eyes fly open and he sits up.

He's been lying in the same position as he had on the many nights to sea in his quest for Teach. He gets to his feet with practiced ease and looks around. He's on the sea, which was a given as he was in his Striker, but the strange thing is that he's surrounded by small boats. He sees dinghys, skiffs and sailboats all around. Some are manned by familiar men and women bearing the mark of Whitebeard on their bodies, but most are empty.

They're all crowded together around a bigger ship with white sails and a simple Jolly Roger flapping in the wind. There's a rope-ladder hanging over the side of the ship which is constantly being climbed by one pirate or other. The ship's deck is crowded with people, many who look confused or determined, most of them look like they just arrived. A man clinging to the rigging shouts to his crewmates of another one arriving and a figure appears to look over the railing.

Ace feels a twinge in his chest when he spots the person who's jaw drops and lets out a strangled sound that might've been Ace's name.

Ace hurries to light fire to his feet in order to get Striker moving but comes up short. He looks down at his foot in confusion. Why won't they light? The person at the railing spots his dilemma and quickly shouts;

"Devil Fruits don't exist here."

Realistaion dawns. Ace's face grows determined and he looks up. He eyes the small boats around him crictically before he takes a breath and makes the first jump. He jumps between the small vessels until he reaches the rope-ladder. He climbs it easily. As soon as he touches the deck however he is dragged to the side and embraced.

He's released before he even has the chance to think about reciprocating.

"Ace, what's going on? Everyone who's arrived so far refuses to tell us anything!" his old friend looks almost frantic with worry for his family and Ace understands. Thatch's first priority has always, always, been his family.

"We're at war. With the Marines," he answers shortly, it's easy to see that Thatch doesn't have the patience for long explanations right now. His face darkens.

"Why? What did they do? They must be hella well prepared if they're able to take you out," there's no sight of Thatch's usual playful grin or glint in his eyes. It's moments like these that remind Ace why Thatch was made Division Commander. This and seeing him get serious in battle, that's a scary experience even Ace admits.

"They-" he begins but interrupts himself, unsure how to respond, "they declared my execution to the world," Ace finally manages.

"You were executed?!" the shock on his friend's face would have been comical if it wasn't for the situation.

"Of course not!" Ace exclaims, "I was fighting Akainu. He was aiming for my little brother, Luffy. I couldn't let him die."

Thatch calms slightly. He can understand reasons like that well. When he calms some of the familiar warmth in his eyes return and he grabs Ace in a hug again, squeezing his arms to his sides and lifting his feet of the deck. Damn him for being so tall.

"I missed you, Ace," he says happily when he lets Ace down. He doesn't ask why Ace was caught in the first place, he's happy to just chat for now, but Ace knows that he'll have to tell the story of hunting Teach sooner or later. Just not right now.

Ace's answering smile - something he dosn't do often, he's more for grinning - is enough for Thatch to know that the sentiment is mutual.

"What is this place, anyway? I mean, I doubt that I'd be let into heaven, and it doesn't feel much like hell," he asks instead, making a show of looking around. He makes a point of not mentioning that he knows what hell is like or why he wouldn't be let into heaven. Thatch chuckles at his joke all the same, for appearances sake. No one is more observant than Thatch and he always finds out what he doesn't know, especially if it concerns his nakama's safety or happiness.

Ace doesn't see much when he looks around, the ship is crowded with Whitebeard pirates and their allies, both ones he recognizes and those he doesn't - they must've been dead already by the time he joined. It fills him with guilt seeing so many of his brothers and sisters having died for him.

Thatch, naturally, notices his descending mood quickly and hurries to distract him with the help of his usual joviality.

"This, brother of mine, is a Waiting Ship. It's where people devoted to the sea come to wait for their near and dear to join them in death," Thatch explains. When the confusion hasn't completely cleared of Ace's face he continues, "When the ones you're waiting for arrive you go on to do whatever it is you want to do with those people. We're waiting for Oyaji, he will most likely choose to captain a crew of his dead children, and then everyone else who arrive after him can arrive to the new ship instead of a Waiting Ship."

Ace's face, which had been clearing up during Thatch's explanation, starts darkening again.

"I don't think it'll be too long now, Oyaji decided to stay behind to let us escape safely," Ace says, his voice filled with anger and guilt as he thinks of Oyaji asking if he'd been a good father. One look at Thatch's stricken face almost makes Ace wish he hadn't said anything

"It'll be alright," Thatch rasps out, "Oyaji is strong, and even if- if he doesn't make it Marco and the others will take care of everyone until they're ready to join us," he continues with growing confidence. He sounds so sure that Ace almost believes him, but doesn't say anything more.

They stand side by side in silence for a while. Ace finds it strange how no one has noticed Thatch is missing from the turmoil of Whitebeards yet, or wondered what Ace's Striker is doing in the water and is just about to suggest they go over and talk to the others - one former Second Division Commander and one former Sixteenth Division Commander isn't enough to keep track of all the new arrivals after all - when two people approach them.

They're a man and a woman. The woman is beautiful. She has strawberry-blonde hair long enough to reach the end of her spine with a pink hibiscus placed in it. She wears a long, plain dress and has a kind, freckled face with the warmest eyes he's ever seen. She's holding the hand of the man, who is at least a head and a half taller than her. He's wearing a long, blood-red coat and a hat in the same colour. He has intensely dark eyes, a wide grin and a quite impressive moustache - not as impressive as Oyaji's though.

Thatch greets them with a grin and a wave. "Hey, Roger, Rouge, this here's my good friend, Ace. He's the Second Division Commander," he explains happily, slinging an arm around Ace's shoulders. Ace blanches. Roger, Rouge, moustache, hibiscus. What he knows of these two people so far rushes through his mind at the speed of light and he reaches a conclusion.

Some part of his mind denies it, even though there's really no question about it. These people, these two, are his parents. And, judging by the way they look at him, they're well aware of who he is as well. Their son, he's their son and they're his parents. He almost takes a step back out of instinct, something he's never gone before, but manages to still himself before he does.

Thatch is happily chatting away about Ace's feats as a Whitebeard Pirate and Roger looks proud. Even though he also looks slightly miffed and thankful about something at the same time.

Neither of them has said a word since they arrived, instead just keeping their eyes on him. Roger sometimes moves his eyes to look at Thatch out of courtesy and a pretense to be concentrating but only seems to be listening with one ear. Rouge doesn't seem to be listening at all.

Thatch, as well, quiets down halfway through his recollection of their fight against the Decalvan Brothers when he realises that no one is actually listening. When he does so Rouge seems to snap out of a daze.

"Ace," she says simply. Her voice is soft and musical, much like he's always imagined it to be. She takes a hesitating step forward and stops. For one dreadful moment he thinks she might see that he's a monster but the thought is quickly dissipated when she starts walking again, this time quicker and with more determination and confidence than before. He's barely had time to wonder what she is going to do when she throws her arms around his back and pulls him into a tight embrace.

She is warm and soft and his arms rise automatically to squeeze back. Involuntarily he lowers his chin to rest on her shoulder and tries to commit to memory the way it feels being hugged by his mother. It is similar to the way Makino's hugs felt, but those had been extremely few and far inbetween - mostly because Ace had been a stubborn brat without a need for hugs as a kid.

When Rouge finally pulls back Ace is reluctant to let her go, but does so anyway, letting his arms fall to his sides, not knowing what kind of reaction not letting go might earn. Rouge doesn't step back, however. Instead she raises her hand to brush a lock of hair out of his face before standing on the tips of her toes to kiss his forehead.

"My son, how you've grown," she says softly. Something warm erupts in his chest at hearing Rouge calling him son. She smiles softly. Her face seems to exude joy even though her smile is small. Just as Ace opens his mouth to answer her - he doesn't know what he's going to say, just that he is going to say something - Roger strides forward to stand next to Rouge who automatically had stepped back slightly to be beside her lover as if feeling his prescence.

Ace stiffens and his jaw locks. He doesn't know quite what he should say to this devil of a man that he happens to share blood with. Out of his peripheral vision he sees Thatch watching them confusedly from a few paces away. Only those who know him well would notice, however. The signs are small, but they're there in the miniscule furrows in his forehead and focused stare.

Ace doesn't let himself look to Thatch for long however, as he can't afford to take his eyes off Roger. Roger himself looks surprised to see the hostile glare Ace is giving him.

"Welcome to the afterlife, my son," he says with a grin. That grin is infuriating. Ace's Devil Fruit powers may be gone but he stills feels the familiar burn that anger against this man has always created.

"My father is Whitebeard, no one else," Roger's grin falls and Rouge's joy is replaced by a sad understanding. Ace regrets to see the joy leave her face, but this is too important.

Roger opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He closes his mouth and stares, just stares. A minute passes. No one speaks a word. After another minute Roger opens his mouth again. This time the words do come out.

"I'd figured out that you'd joined Newgate," he pauses for a moment, "but I'd never figured that you'd hate me," he sounds sad, and that only serves to make Ace madder.

Ace snorts derisively. "Why wouldn't I?" his smoldering glare doesn't lessen a bit. The familiar feeling of constant anger and lingering loneliness from his childhood well up within him and reminds him why he's hated this man for so long.

"Why would you?" Roger counters.

"I took the information I could get about you, it was pretty easy to figure out what kind of person you were by that," Ace snarls. Another glance out of his peripheral vision tells him that Thatch is getting worried. He hasn't seen this part of Ace since before he joined Oyaji, and then never to this extent. Ace briefly considers toning it down but quickly scraps that idea as soon a Roger starts speaking again.

"What I'm like?" he asks and Ace is now pretty convinced that Roger is either playing dumb or is really stupid. He voices this very thought to Roger, but the old man just keeps staring confusedly.

Just as Ace is about to let out a string of profanities someone in the crowd of Whitebeard Pirates gasps loudly while another shouts even louder in surprise and yet another starts straight out sobbing. What had earlier been a low murmur soon reaches a crescendo and someone shouts out "Oyaji!". Suddenly it's very clear why they all seem so upset. Ace's prediction from a earlier now rings true.

Thatch quickly strides over to the railing to see it with his own eyes, looking like he doesn't quite believe it. Ace throws Roger one last glare before following his friend.

He squeezes by his crewmates to the railing and immediately spots Oyaji. He's sitting calmly in a skiff much bigger than all the other boats bobbing around. He looks younger and healthier than Ace has ever seen him. In his hand is his bisento and on his head is his usual black bandana.

They all watch as he picks up the oars and starts rowing towards them. It's a strange sight. Usually Oyaji never comes to you unless you deserve a beatdown or are gravely wounded, it's always you who go to him. But now he's rowing towards them like it's no big deal whatsoever.

Everyone around has fallen silent by the time he reaches the ladder. When he's climbed up and stepped on the deck the dam suddenly bursts. Sobs of both happiness, sadness and relief echo all around accompanied by cries of disbelief.

Oyaji just laughs his gurgling laugh and greets them.

Then someone who is not a Whitebeard Pirate speaks up, and he's heard clearly over the cacophony.

"Finally arrived then, Eddie? That's good, I was starting to miss having a drinking buddy who can keep up with me!" Rage courses through Ace and drowns the slight confusion he's feeling when he hears the bastard speak so casually to Oyaji. But Whitebeard just laughs it off.

"It's good to see you too, Roger," he says in return. Now Ace really is confused. How can they greet each other like old friends when they were rivals? Roger laughs but doesn't say anything more as Oyaji is swarmed by his sons and daughters.

Ace stands still where he is, trying to process the new information. Gold Roger and Whitebeard, friends? The bare thought is inconceivable. All he's ever heard about Roger and Newgate points to them being mortal enemies, not drinking buddies.

He's so deep in thought that he barely notices Thatch when he suddenly rushes past, heading for Newgate. It does however bring him out of his daze and he hurries to follow. He can think about the despicable man who shares his blood later. Right now he should be welcoming Oyaji and thanking him for the extent he went to to save Ace.

The crowd of people around Oyaji is big. There's got to be at least a hundred of them. As such it takes time to reach him, because he's the best father anyone could have and has not forgotten a single one of them, so he needs to greet them all individually.

When it's finally Ace's turn his anger has cooled and sunken away to the back of his mind. In it's place is now all the gratefullness and love he holds for his family.

He stares up at his only true father and doesn't really know how to express what he's thinking. Thankfully Oyaji takes the matter into his own hands.

"I'm glad to see you've arrived safely, my son," he says and Ace's chest swells with pride at being called son by this man.

"I'm sorry," he says, "for all the trouble I've caused, I got you killed," his voice is as solemn as his expression and he hopes that he can be forgiven.

"Foolish brat," Whitebeard says and whacks him lightly - though lightly for him is actually quite harshly to anyone else - over the head, "that's the kind of thing you do for family."

The relief Ace feels is almost palpable and he knows that Roger doesn't matter because he's going to spend the rest of his afterlife sailing with this man that he willingly calls father.

**AN: Woah. This is my longest (and hardest) chapter yet. Ace and Roger caused a lot of trouble for me, refusing to interact properly. *huff***

**If you find the reunions of this chapter lacking I can assure you that I will at some point write a bonus chapter in which Ace tries to sort out his feelings and talks a lot with various knowledgable characters. :P I know it may seem like a bit of an odd place to end the chapter, and it is, but Whitebeard's chapter will be acting as a sort of follow up, along with the bonus chapter. He'll also have plenty of time to wonder about Sabo there.**

**I've decided to change my mind about the whole 'irregular' thing from my first AN. Instead I will try to get ****_at least_**** one chapter up a week, most likely during the weekend. So there will most likely not be any of this one chapter a deay deal that I've been doing up until now. School is officially starting again tomorrow for me, so I won't have nearly as much time to write as I've had earlier.**

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Rouge


	5. Rouge

Rouge

When Rouge dies she is thirty-eight years old. She's still around thirty years to young to be dying of natural causes. That's because she does not die an exactly natural death. Some would claim that dying in childbirth is natural enough, but her case still isn't very natural. It's not normal because she has, at the time of her death, borne her baby for twenty months in the hopes that he won't be suspected as Roger's child. She's okay with leaving a bit early though, the best parts of her still reasonably long life had been the times spent with Roger, and he's passed on already. The only thing left for her on Baterilla, in life, is Ace.

Rouge dies with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. She is glad to have been able to give her child, her son, the chance to live. She trusts that Garp will take care of him, Roger did after all, and she trusts Roger's judgement. She is also sad, however, because she is leaving her baby. She won't ever have the chance to watch him grow up into the fine young man she knows he will become.

She's tired. The exhaustion is palpable after twenty long months. She is slipping away from life, from Ace, but it's not as bad as she thought. Maybe she'll finally get to rest. Maybe she'll get to see Roger again. She sincerely hopes so, she's missed him so much that it aches since he last left.

She cradles her son for the first and last time and kisses his forehead gently before slipping away into what many would call eternal sleep.

Rouge hadn't truly expected to open her eyes again at all, even though she had her hopes of seeing Roger, yet she does. They open to see the baby blue sky and fluffy clouds overhead. The sun warms pleasantly and the soft swaying of her resting place almost lulls her to sleep. She hasn't had the chance to relax in this way in almost two years for constant worrying. She hums contently. Then her eyes snap wide open when she realises that she supposedly died bare moments earlier.

She sits up quickly. Around her is nothing but sea and more sea, except there. She squints into the distance. Yes, that looks like a ship. She grabs the oars without hesitation and starts rowing towards the ship, whether the sailors are friends or foes doesn't matter much, she's already dead after all.

Though a gentle and kind woman, Rouge has always been determined as well. If there's something she wants done it usually happens, whether she's the one doing the work or not.

Even though she's never had the chance to do much manual labor in life other than tending to her gardens Rouge doesn't have to much of a trouble rowing. When she was little her mother had always blamed her father's genes, saying something about it being 'the D in her' that made her so determined and strong. Rouge had never really understood what it meant, being a D, until Roger had told her.

Thus she hasn't even breaken a sweat when she finally reaches the ship, which is bigger than she thought. The anchor is down for some reason, so the ship is, thankfully, still. She watches the vessel for a moment, pondering how to call the sailors' attentions. She idly wonders why the watchman hasn't spotted her yet.

At last she decides that calling up to the deck is her best course of action, as the chance of anyone hearing her knock at the hull like one would a door is quite small.

"Excuse me," she calls, "I require directions, if there is anyone willing to give them," she waits patiently for someone to appear. The one who finally does is a man who looks to be only slightly older than herself with small, pig-like eyes and a lewd grin.

He leers down at her, "I can give you much more than directions, sweetheart," he says suggestively.

"Just directions will be fine, please," she answers as she gazes evenly at the man. She would claim that he was a dead pirate, but she's had her fair share of run-ins with Marines just as lecherous as the typical depiction of pirates. She'd learned as a young woman that her best bet always is politely declining without seeming bothered in the slightest.

"Hey now, little lady, don't be like that. I bet we could have loads of fun together," he continues with a wink, uncaring about her decline. Just as Rouge is about to politely tell him no yet again another man appears at the railing, towering above the first.

This one is grinning as well, but his grin seems to be about general happiness rather than lust. He wears his dark hair in a ponytail and a pair of sunglasses are perched on his nose. He feels vaguely familiar, like she's seen him before but never really met him.

"Hey, Maestro, what are you doing, harassing a lady like that?" it's phrased like a question, but it sounds more rethorical than anything.

"Ah, Gaban," the man, Maestro, seems slightly perturbed to have been discovered in his flirtations, "I was just inviting this lovely lady here up to assist her."

Gaban - where had she heard that name before? - gives him a sideways look.

"Right. I guess you forgot the number one rule on this ship, then," Rouge watches with well concealed amusement as Maestro turns to Gaban with wide eyes.

"N-number one rule?"

"When new people come you always call the Captain," Maestro's mouth forms an O of understanding as Gaban answers. The bigger of the two draws a deep breath before shouting;

"OI, CAPTAIN, we've got a new arrival!"

There's a crash as something is dropped beyond Rouge's vision and the sound of boots slapping against wood before the supposed Captain appears at the railing. Rouge's eyes lit up and the man gives a rather cute sound of surprise when they see each other.

It's Roger. Standing there in all his glory is her lover. Oh, how she has missed him. A familiar grin reserved only for her breaks out across his face and he calls his men to attention, ordering them to help her onboard.

Soon enough she's on the ship and can see the whole of him. He looks exactly like she remembers, from his moustache and cravat and all the way down to his black boots.

"Rouge," he breathes out, looking slightly awed. His eyes are shining with a whirlpool of emotions, moving from happy, to scared, to sad within a moment's notice.

"Roger," she calls back, face beaming with joy and then they're in each other's arms.

"I missed you," she murmurs into his shoulder, content to feel his strong arms around her.

"Rouge, are you alright?" he asks softly. She can't imagine what kind of scenarios might be going through his head and she's quick to alleviate his fears.

"I'm fine, the pregnacy was just to much for my body to handle for so long," she pulls back to face him, still with her arms around him, and sees the fear in his eyes, "Ace is fine. The labor had just ended. Garp-san was there to take him when I went," she murmurs into his ear.

Roger brushes away a tear she hadn't realised was falling.

"Ace…" he says softly. It's the name he chose, should the baby be a boy. "I'm glad. Then you're both alright." he continues.

Rouge hums in agreement, resting her head on his shoulder. She hasn't felt this safe since Roger last left Baterilla. The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stand on end, indicating that someone is watching her. But she knows that she's safe as long as she is with Roger, and so pays it no heed.

She hears a dull thud and a groan of pain in the background, but Roger doesn't even seem to notice so she doesn't pay it any mind. The feeling of being watched, however, goes away, so she presumes that the watcher has been subdued.

"He's beautiful," she murmurs against his neck, "he's so tiny that I couldn't believe it at first. He's got your eyes, and your hair, but my freckles..." She continues murmuring her description of their baby boy in his ear, all the while seeing his sweet face in her mind's eye. At one point she feels drops of something wet hitting her neck, but doesn't mention it. They stand like that for a long time while Gaban urges the crewmates back to their tasks.

When they finally pull back ever so slightly Roger leans down to place a soft kiss on her lips, something she has been craving unconciously for very, very long now.

When they part Roger takes her hand and looks deep into her eyes. He opens his mouth and speaks one sentence, just one, that makes her heart soar because she knows that to him it means so much more.

"My lovely Rouge, would you like to stay with me?" Coming from Roger it's as good as a proposal and his eyes confirm it.

"Yes, my Roger, I would."

Their lips meet again and thus they begin their forever, one they could never have in life.

Rouge finds out many things over the coming years. She blushes when she finds out that Roger named the ship he's currently the Captain of The Lovely Rouge and smiles when she learns of how Roger has decided to wait with restarting his crew until his best friend arrives, even though it will take years upon years for Rayleigh to arrive. She finds out that the man called Scopper Gaban she thought she knew from somewhere is one of her lover's old crewmembers and that she recognised him from an old photo Roger had once showed her. She learns every rule of the afterlife, it doesn't take many years until she can recite them just as well as Roger.

After twenty years of waiting Roger's old rival (and sometimes drinking buddy) arrives, accompanied by dozens of his sons. One of them is Ace. She's thrilled to see him, though she moruns his death, and devastated when she learns how he hates his father. However she has faith that they will one day get along as she has dreamed. It takes years, but Ace does grow used to his father after many visits and Rouge couldn't be happier the day she spots her two men having a completely civil conversation during which Ace doesn't even look tense.

When Rayleigh ultimately arrives Roger proudly declares that it's time to rebuild the Roger Pirates and invites every man and woman on his Waiting Ship to join him, some do and some don't. They later board an exact replica of the Oro Jackson to set sail with both new and old crewmembers onboard. That night they party and sing and even Rouge joins in when they dance to celebrate.

It's the beginning of something that will never end, she can feel it in her bones.

**AN: This is shorter than usual, but in my defense we barely know anything about Rouge so it was quite hard writing insight into her head. Let's call it making up for Ace's chapter being so long. I hope it was good enough!**

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Garp


	6. Garp

**Garp**

When Garp die she is ninety-two years old. He is by all means an old man and has lived a long, if not griefless, life. By now every single man and woman who made a name for themselves back in the good old days are dead. Both Senny and Tsuru-chan had gone years ago, at peace in their retirements. Garp had been the last of the three to retire at the age of eighty-nine. All his old rivals -_drinking buddies_- are gone by now as well. Both Roger, Newgate and Shiki are long gone.

Those who remain are the brats of the future, those Garp still likes to call rookies. Coby has been fleet-admiral for nearly ten years now with Helmeppo as his right-hand man but to Garp they are still the same brats he picked up from a passing marine vessel so very many years ago.

A few of the brats pretensiously called 'Supernovas' are still left. The two Yonko Trafal-guy and Bonney are still left, along with Basil Hawkins and a few others, but the former Yonko 'Captain Kidd' is dead along with Luffy. Garp still can't believe that the cute brat he'd trained so hard had gone before him even when he dies. The only comfort he has is that his -_disowned_- son Dragon still is alive and kicking.

When Garp retired three years ago it was more out of protest than anything else. He thinks that the only reason that he stayed with the marines when -sweetangrytooyoung- Ace was executed is because of Sengoku and Tsuru. His oldest and closest friends -nakama- are two he could not abandon, not then, not ever. But both of them are dead now, and he doesn't know if he would've been able to stand on the sides of the marines and watch another grandson executed, no matter if it meant maybe seeing his nakama as much.

So the day before his cute grandson is to be executed he retires and no-one argues. Both Coby and Helmeppo know his ties to Luffy and know how he felt the last time this happened. He as well knows that they are reluctant to see the Pirate King executed, him bieng the one who set them both on their paths to greatness, but both protocol and higher-ups declare that the King needs to go, so they have no choice.

He stays for the execution of course, there may not be much he can do, and he knows he shouldn't do anything for any reason anyways, both for Luffy's and his own sake, but he'll be damned if he isn't there for his grandson on his last day.

So he is. He watches and listens as Luffy makes his declaration of freedom and feels proud because he has a feeling that the new era will be different from the one Roger started.

When all is said and done he heads to Fuusha village. He hasn't been there in years now and if there is somewhere he wants to spend his retirement it's where he grew up. He spends his last days munching on rice-crackers, annoying Woop Slap, chatting with Makino and drinking with Dadan until he one day just drops.

It's funny because it feels the same way as it always does when he suddenly falls asleep in the middle of something, but still different. The sudden darkness is different, but instead of the familiar fuzzy feeling it now feels like he is floating in the darkness.

It's a strange sensation but it doesn't last very long. Suddenly he can feel again, feel a steady breeze against his face and hard wood beneath his back.

He sits up as if he had just awoken from one of his customary naps and the wood beneath him sways. He looks around. Ah, he's on a boat. In the middle of the sea. He shrugs his shoulders, he's been in worse situations, and put his boys through even worse during their tortu- erm training sessions.

Another look around however reveals that he is not alone in the middle of the sea. For there, heading straight towards him, is a big ship. Garp can't tell what kind it is - he's never been much for memorising stuff, and especially not things he doesn't need - but there is a big emblem on the sail that looks like that of the marines but not quite the same. It's a vague outline of a seagull, not carrying anything. Garp scratches his head in confusion but shrugs it off. The brats have probably decided to change the logo, ballsy as they are, or the tailors have done a terrible job on the sails.

As the ship nears, however, he notes that that isn't the only thing off about the ship. First off no-one is wearing a marine uniform, second off the parts of the crew that he can spot seem more relaxed than the hard-drilled tenseness of marine soldiers.

Garp is about to shrug it off for a third time and start finding his way back to Fuusha when he spots the odd circular haircut and a flash of dark blue hair that he knows. His curiosity has now not only been piqued but is now bubbling furiously in his stomach because it _can't be_.

But he shouldn't really be surprised. After spending around seventy years on the Grand Line he should know that nothing, _nothing_, is impossible. Not even the dead returning apparently.

It's not a question whether he's going to investigate or not. He qucikly locates a pair of oars lying on the bottom of the simple rowboat and puts them in the water. The oars move silently and easily through the water, a familiar motion in an unfamiliar situation. The strokes are strong and steady and he's soon closing in on the ship. The man on watch has spotted him and is running around screaming like a headless chicken, that man could definitely use a fist of justice or two to calm him down.

The two impossible people on the other hand are calm and silent, watching him approaching. The closer he gets the more they look like his old friends, like Sengoku and Tsuru. The ball of black Senny called hair and Tsuru-chan's sleek, dark hair in her usual ponytail and their crossed arms are clearly visible.

They look much younger than he's seen them in decades. Neither of them have had hair any colour but white for many years now for one, neither has Garp but that's beside the point. Many of their wrinkles are missing too, though Senny still has his glasses. Despite this they both look as serious as ever, though. Always too serious for their own good, those two.

When he's finally within proper hearing distance of the ship he takes a deep breath and yells;

"You two got younger, you bastards," Senny snorts in response while Tsuru-chan nearly smiles, which on her equals a big smile.

"So did you," Sengoku answers.

"Really?" Garp takes a sideways glance into the water and sees the blurry reflection of dark hair. Huh. "Looks like it, Bwahahaha!" Strange, but not strange enough to be weird.

Tsuru sighs and Senny shakes his head, why they do he doesn't know. When he finally comes up alongside the not-marine ship Senny panics.

"Don't you dare punch a hole in this ship, Garp!" he yells desperately. How nostalgic, he sounds the exact same way as that one time Garp made an extra cool entrance into his office and took down two walls in one go.

The former vice-admiral gives his friend his most innocent expression (which Sengoku has claimed isn't very innocent at all). It's not like he was planning to enter through the hull or anything, noooo. But while Senny's reprimands have never really worked on him there is nothing scarier than Tsuru's glares, so he has no choice but to climb the spindly rope-ladder provided.

The ladder creaks omniously but he makes it onto the deck dry. The deck itself is clean and sorted, every rope is at the exact right place and so are the barrels and crates. Sengoku is probably the one who runs this ship, he's always been a stickler for order.

"What's this ship? The symbol is weird," he says when he's facing them.

"It's a ship for sailors. There are no marines here, but the Reapers still feel the need to divide us into groups, so they call us sailors. We're not pirates, or adventurers, or even merchants, just sailors," Tsuru answers. Her face is oddly blank, like it sometimes was when they were young and she was trying to hide something. Garp doesn't have the slightest clue what 'Reapers' are, but it doesn't matter.

"Bwahahahaha, it's good to see you two again," he says instead of the expected questions and suddenly the blank look leaves Tsuru's face and Sengoku's arms fall to his sides limply. Then they both smile and step forward to accept the hug he's opened his arms widely for.

"We missed you, Garp. It may be very nice and calm without you, but nothing _ever _happens," Tsuru complains into his shoulder. Garp just laughs loudly at her.

"Welcome, old friend," Sengoku adds, stepping back to push up his glasses. He opens his mouth to say somethig more, but is rudely interrupted by a young man rushing up to him.

"Commander! Two foreign vessels have been spotted to starboard, sir!" Sengoku doesn't look very troubled by the news.

"What coulours are they flying?" he asks calmly.

"Black flag, sir. They're to far away to make out which crew, sir," Sengoku gives him a dismissing nod and strides over to the railing. Garp lumbers after him with Tsuru at his side.

"I thought you said that you weren't marines?" Garp teases his friend as he leans over the railing to get a look at the ships. There are two of them floating side by side with a gangplank in between. There seems to be a rowboat tied still right between the ships. They both look oddly familiar, but he can't quite place his finger on where from. His memory of his yonger days has gotten a bit fuzzy over the years.

"We're not, but that doesn't stop pirates from being pirates. They rarely actually kill anyone, but they always, _always_, want a fight," Tsuru sighs. Suddenly Sengoku tenses as if he's rememeberd something. He turns to their female friend, an unintelligible look on his face.

"Tsuru-chan, what's today's date?" he asks with building dread in his voice.

"The 23rd of May, wh-" the woman trails off as realisation dawns on her face but then leaves in favor of going very pale very fast.

"May," she mutters under her breath, echoed almost immediately by the former fleet-admiral.

"I'd nearly forgotten," he mumbles and then curses a blue-streak. Garp's eyebrows rise into his hairline, he's never heard Senny swear like that before, and especially not at the notion of fighting pirates.

"Have you become a scaredy-cat since I last saw you, Senny?" he laughs loudly. Said friend glares sharply.

"This is no laughing matter, Garp. Things like this always end badly," he reprimands.

"Things like what?" Garp asks curiously, he can smell a fight brewing, which is always a good sign.

"Like The Pirate Meeting," Tsuru picks up, "last we heard they were planning to start an alliance," she shudders at the thought.

"Pirate meeting, huh?" this really smells like a fight. Garp grins widely at the thought.

"Don't even think about it, Garp. With those three and the assorted crews of two of them in one place they are completely undefeatable. Not even you could beat one of those people single-handedly," Tsuru warns seriously. Finally Garp frowns. Has his old friend forgotten her trust in his abilities, or does men like that really exist? Garp is not one for losing, no matter who he is fighting.

"Do you finally get it?" Sengoku sweeps a hand over the railing in a gesture towards the not-so-distant ships, "they're to st-" the man starts spluttering when he notices how close the two ships are. They're far within firing-range already.

Garp's jaw drops for a moment when he sees the two ships up-close and wonders how he could ever forget the silhouettes of either of them, but quickly picks it up. Four men are sitting in a ring in the middle of the deck of the closest ship. Suddenly three of them look up as one while the fourth takes a moment longer to throw his head back and laugh. Two of the first men light up in joy while the third has a look of mixed horror and slight happiness on his face.

In the end however it's the fourth one who speaks up.

"Finally dead huh, Garp?" Edward Newgate laughs again and takes a deep gulp from his tankard of booze. Garp doesn't have time to think about his statement - dead? Him? - because one of the other men speaks up.

"Well I'll be damned, welcome to the aftterlife, Garp my friend!" Gol D. Roger shouts gleefully.

"Hi grandpa!" the third man, _Luffy_, calls, waving his arms enthusiastically. Roger elbows the fourth man and Ace speaks up, though not as loudly as the others.

"Welcome, shitty gramps."

"Roger, Eddie, you bastards! Are you corrupting my cute grandsons?" Garp shouts, waving one of his very impressive fists at his old drinking-buddies, but his eyes crinkle at the corners for the smile covering his face. But it's not like he's happy to see them or anything, no.

"They were completely corrupted when they came, Garp!" Roger answers, looking very proud of the fact. Luffy and Ace share a grin behind the Pirate King's back. They know it's true. They were more corrupted by each other than anyone else after all.

"Do you want a drink, Garp? For old times' sake?" Newgate asks.

"Why not?" the former vice-admiral shrugs and takes a step back before he jumps straight from the deck of Sengoku's ship to the railing of the ship looking uncannily like the _Moby Dick_.

Suddenly his cute grandsons start to lose colour. He'd think they were sick if it wasn't for the fact that they don't get sick_._ They share another look before inching closer to one another. They must've missed each other, Garp reasons, Ace has been dead for years now after all.

Garp steps of the railing, completely ignoring Senny and Tsuru-chan's indignant calls of reprimand. He's just going to catch up a bit with his old fri- rivals after all.

He sits down in between Luffy and Newgate and grabs a tankard of booze. Luffy inches just slightly closer to Ace for some reason. There's no more room left between the two at all now. Neither seems to mind though. Ace throws him a supicious glance not unlike one from his younger years and slings an arm around Luffy's shoulders protectively. Those two really do look out for each other. He's taught them well, he thinks proudly. Eddie and Roger both are watching the two brothers out of the corner of their eyes with a mix of amusement and suspicion. Huh.

Roger soon turns to Garp and points out a lack of grey hairs, laughing loudly. They end up talking about their old escpades and new adventures they've had here, wherever _here_ is. Sometime around Garp's fifth tankard of booze his grandsons start relaxing slightly and joining in the conversation.

The conversation soon turns to the rumours Sengoku told him about, those of an alliance. Luffy and Roger join up to excitedly tell him everything about their idea with Newgate and Ace making comments and corrections here and there. Except it's not gonna be called an alliance, it's going to be called a Pirate Council.

Dusk falls and the booze runs out. At last they decide that Garp should be heading back to Senny's ship, apparently Luffy is staying the night on the _Moby Dick II_.

Garp gets up and dusts himself off.

"It was good seeing you, Roger, Eddie," he tells the two senior captains and recieves similar greetings in return. He then turns to his cute grandsons.

"How about you boys come with me back to Senny and become sailors?" he asks them. It's not as good as marines, but he'd be able to keep track of them.

"No way!" they shout as one, jumping to their feet.

"No?" Garp grins, they don't seem to have learned respect quite yet, despite all his brilliant training. Looks like someone wants a Fist of Love. The sound of his knuckles against their hard heads ring across the deck. He still hasn't lost his touch. They both shout and glare and Ace looks like something he'd been expecting finally happened.

"I'll be checking in on you two," Garp tells them resolutely, grabbing the boy who used to be rubber and the boy who used to be fire into a bear-hug. Without a government to hunt them there really wouldn't be any greater point in them joining the marines anyway, even if they existed here. Wherever _here _was.

They still wave him off happily when he goes back to Senny's ship, which - surprisingly - has stayed where he left it.

"Have a good afterlife, Garp!" Whitebeard calls after him when he goes. He wonders yet again what this business about 'afterlife' is, but dismisses it again, he'll find out eventually.

Senny and Tsuru greet him with glares and tuts when he returns, both looking very reproachful and throroughly annoyed for some reason. Garp opens his mouth to speak;

"So, Senny, are the crackers any good around here?" This earns him a sound slap over the head.

When Garp finally finds out that he's dead he drops his first cracker afterlife over the railing somehow.

**AN: This chapter was probably the most fun yet.**

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Mihawk


	7. Mihawk

**Mihawk**

When Mihawk dies he is seventy-three years old. When the former 'Greatest Swordsman in the World' dies it is not at the hands of Roronoa Zoro, as he had expected. Because for all that the 'Pirate Hunter' is a demon he is not one to kill for the sake of killing, and therefore he defeats his teacher soundly, but doesn't kill him. No, Mihawk has been retired for over ten years when he dies.

Despite this he is killed in battle. The younger brother of one of his old adversaries has found him and gotten to him. He has gotten old by now, and his skills aren't quite what they used to be. His opponent is skilled enough, not a rookie by any means, it is obvious to a master swordsman like Mihawk that this man has been training all his life for this moment, most likely close to thirty years. It's a good enough death.

He doesn't mind dying, he was getting even more bored with the world than usual. The excitement and challenge in his life has dropped significantly since Roronoa defeated him. He hopes that the wine in hell is good. He doesn't think he'll be going anywhere but hell. Mihawk hasn't exactly lived a pure and lawful life. He has murdered and shed gallons upon gallons of blood in his time.

He refuses to admit it out loud, but life has started getting lonely. He used to be able to have a drink or a spar with Roronoa when they crossed paths, but his old pupil has been dead for a year already. As such he doesn't interact with anyone but puny challengers nowadays. Shanks died earlier in the year and half of his crewmates went with him, including Benn Beckman, one of the only tolerable men in this world. It's gotten so bad that he sometimes miss the days when Perona would float around, whining about some uncute thing or another.

The blood flows from his wounds but he remains standing until he is completely submerged in darkness. It no longer feels like he is standing on the ground, just sort of floating. Mihawk wonders if this is death, eternal darkness. He hopes not, he's still conscious after all and this cold darkness would get terribly boring terribly quickly.

But then the darkness starts to disperse and allows the master swordsman to see and feel again. What he feels is familiar and his sight confirms it. He's sitting leaned back in the seat of his old Coffin Boat. The candles are lit and the green fire flickers comfortingly. There's no one around but he still hides his surprise at the fact that this is not the hell he was expecting.

It feels too much like it did in life. The swaying of the boat and the wind on his face. It feels the exact same way as it used to when he was younger and would sail around in an attempt to stave off his boredom. He sincerely hopes - something he doesn't do often - that the afterlife won't be as boring as life had been. Maybe it won't. There ought to be dozens of dead, but skilled, swordsmen around in death.

Hawk-Eyes hears a distant murmur of voices. The cacophony is a mix of cheering and singing, most likely that of drunk pirates. He contemplates his choices for a moment. On one hand these pirates could prove an interesting challenge, but on the other they sound both loud and drunk which is an excellent recipe for a headache if they're strong.

Mihawk makes a decision against his better judgement and unfolds the single sail in a way that lets him head towards the sound. If nothing else he will enjoy ending the annoying sound.

He soon spots a ship in the horizon. They must be incredibly loud, he muses, to be heard so far. When he nears even more he realises why. The ship is one he recognises well. It is one he has seen many times and been aboard many of them. He can feel the headcahe building already as he studies the Red Force. Trust Shanks to party loud enough to be heard past the horizon.

The poor sod on watch yells loudly in an effort to be heard over the cacophony of the party, and succeeds in gaining the attention of a few men. One of them runs to the stern where Mihawk spots a head of unmistakeable red hair. The man is waving his hands frantically and shouting. Mihwak scoffs to himself. The man must be new, none of Shanks's more weathered men would be caught dead panicking over an approaching ship like that. When the man leaves Shanks rushes to the railling. His face splits into a grin and he waves happily.

"Oi! Hawky! Is that you?" Mihawk knows that Shanks already knows, the question is more rhetorical than anything.

Mihawk is almost alongside the large ship now and Shanks is still waving cheerily. When the hull of the Coffin Boat and the Red Force, collide with a muffled thump the redheaded captain seems to realise that he should be fetching a rope-ladder if he doesn't want his ship cleaved in two.

He throws the ladder over the side and attaches the other end. Mihawk has just grabbed the robe to climb up when Shanks suddenly pales and yells down.

"Wait, stop! You can't come aboard yet!"

"Why in the world not?" Mihawk asks, slightly offended.

"Have you made The Decision yet?" Shanks asks hurriedly in response.

"What decision?"

"You need to make a decision before you board a ship or go ashore. If you go anywhere but your boat before that decision the place you've gone will become your default for the coming decade." Shanks's explanation is messy and even Mihawk is confused. Luckily for both parties however the rest of the crew somehow heard Shanks's shout and has headed over to find out what is going on. Among them is Benn Beckman, whose hair has returned to the coal black colour it once was. Beckman is a clever man and is the only one who can always make sense of his captain's ramblings.

"He means that if you go somewhere before decidig what you want to do in afterlife you'll be stuck there for a while. The rule applies to everywhere but Waiting Ships. You can only change your decision once a decade. You would most likely cut someone's head off if nobody warned you, that's why he's so panicky," the first mate explains calmly. He sends a sideways glance to his captain. "I think it's decision time."

"Hey, Hawky…" a grin spreads over Shanks's face, "Join my crew."

Mihawk stares. It isn't the first time Shanks has tried to recruit him, and it isn't the first time a part of him wants to say yes. But he is a loner, has always been, so he has always denied his friend in the past. Now however… lately he hasn't only been a loner, but lonely. He's found himself missing company at the strangest of times. Would it really be so bad? Having nakama?

"...Fine," he says at last. Shanks jaw drops for a moment, along with the rest of the crew, but he quickly picks it up to grin a brighter grin than Mihawk has ever seen.

"Welcome to the crew, Mihawk!" he exclaims joyfully. Mihawk grabs the rope-ladder and starts climbing, not particularily caring for anyone's shock. His boots hit the deck with a thud. The rest of the crew seems to be graudally getting over their shock, some picking up their jaws and others picking themselves up from the floor where they'd fallen over. He can understand their shock, but this is almost ridiculous.

Shanks slings his single arm around Mihawk's shoulders.

"Welcome to the afterlife, my friend. Sorry 'bout yellin', I'm not very used to all these rules yet, but it's my job as Captain to warn and guide and stuff so that's that," he explains.

Beckman is the first after Shanks to recover. His mouth turns upwards at the corners in something reminiscent to a smile.

"Welcome aboard, Mihawk, it'll be good to have someone sensible around to talk to," he says.

That's when it hits him what he has just done. He has agreed to sailing with Shanks. Forever. The realistaion must be clear on his face because Beckman chuckles and Shanks laughs loudly.

"Dahahahaha! Let's have a party!" Shanks yells and suddenly the crew is spurred into action, cheering and yelling for booze.

Mihawk has a feeling his exasperation will grow bigger than ever very quickly. But he doesn't mind too much. At least he won't be bored.

**AN: This is really short, sorry. I haven't had much time to write this week. Also Mihawk is kinda hard. If anyone's wondering about why Shanks still only has one arm it's because I figured that saving Luffy's life would be something that he didn't regret, he'd rather be proud of it. He's also live with one arm for 40 or so years by now, wouldn't it feel a bit weird to him to have two arms again after all that time?**

**There isn't going to be a chapter next week, as I am going to be travelling and won't have access to internet or a computer. Fair warning.**

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Thatch


	8. Thatch

**AN: I'm back!**

**Thatch**

When Thatch dies he is forty-three years old. He rather fancies himself too young to die. If Ace heard that he'd probably laugh and call him an old man, but Thatch ignores that little thought for the moment.

He'd never expected to die this way. He's a pirate and thus death is not a foreign subject nor is it a rare thought to think about, however he had always thought that he would die in battle. Maybe facing a great enemy or protecting one of his many siblings. He knew when he joined Oyaji twenty-seven years ago that it was unlikely that he would die of old age or anything similar. But he had, despite knowing all this, and despite knowing that most pirates are scoundrels who lie and betray he had never ever expected to be killed by one of his own nakama, literally stabbed in the back.

He feels numb. He dimly registers that a drop of blood has broken free from the pool around his abdomen and is trailing sluggishly towards his face. Rain beats against his face but he barely feels it. He loves rain. While others find it dreary Thatch has always found it refreshing and life-giving (as long as one doesn't stand outside too long and catches a cold). Rain can give life to anything, it's vital for growing most things he uses in his kitchen and it can save the lives of anyone lost, whether it be in a desert or at sea. Besides, while loving to play in the sun he had always loved playing in the rain just as much as a child, not to mention that it was the perfect excuse to stay in and read cookbooks. How ironic that he would die under the showers he has always seen as the opposite of death.

Thunder roars but it sounds oddly muted in his ears, like his head is underwater, but despite this Teach's laughter still rings in his ears. His vision is fading as well, black spots taking the place of the deck and railing he knows he should be facing. The pain in his back is nearly non-existent now, he hopes that it's just the adrenaline numbing it, and not something else, not death.

His head is starting to feel fuzzy and his vision is fading quicker. It doens't take much longer before he has slipped away completely. When he does his mind starts getting clearer again. He can't feel anything, no pain, no rain, no wind, no nothing. He can't see, hear, or smell, there's just darkness. So this is death, huh? He hopes his family won't be too sad. While he loves attention, always has, he much prefers it to be positive attention, like high praise for his skills, not grief. But he knows they will, he knows they will cry and miss him just like every other time they lose one of their own, like when they lost Dai, the Second Division Commander before Ace. But he can still hope, he has always hated seeing his family cry, he doesn't want them to cry for him.

With time the darkness fades. In its wake it leaves a light breeze, the sight of the blue sky, the sound of seagulls crying out and the smell of the sea. He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs with air. Out of all his senses smell is the one he treasures the most after taste. After all, how can he be a good chef without being able to smell the food he's cooking or the quality of his ingredients?

He sits up to study his surroundings. The sea is calm, a stark difference to the storm he has just witnessed, and he spots a ship bobbing on the surface close by. He shrugs inwardly and picks up a pair of oars from the bottom of the otherwise plain skiff he has found himself in and starts rowing towards the ship. He's dead anyway, it's not like it could do any harm. It feels weird thinking that and knowing it is true, so he hastily scraps that thought.

He studies the ship while he rows; it's a big Galleon with a plain jolly roger flapping happily in the wind at the top of the tallest mast, while the second tallest mast sports a black flag with a depiction of a golden hourglass that has half of the sand in the top and half in the bottom for some reason. The name of the ship, _The Lovely Rouge_, is handwritten on the side of the ship in beautiful, cursive letters. The crew itself seems to be big, the men and women milling around on deck could easily be a hundred pirates. He dearly hopes that they aren't the same kind of scoundrels as Teach. It would be incredibly bothersome. He has a feeling they're not, however. He can spot the Captian of the crew, standing tall and proud by the helm, his grin is so wide and bright that Thatch can see it from where he is, at least five dozen yards away. He has the air of a man who has everything and is content with it, but not that of a murderer. Hopefully his crew will match that.

The watchman finally spots him after a few more strokes of his oars and Thatch is rather surprised that no-one has seen him until now. When then man leans back from the binoculars attached to the railings of the crow's nest it becomes clear why; the man is missing both of his arms and squints with his one eye in a way that speaks of an injury, the other eye is completely covered by an eyepatch.

At the call of the watchman five men rush to the railing. Every single one of them is familiar in one way or another. There's a man he recognises from Gol D. Roger's old crew but he can't seem to remember the man's name. That's a bit of a blow to his self-esteem, he thinks glumly. Maybe he isn't too young after all, if he's forgetting stuff, he has always been the one to remember things. He never forgets a face, a bounty or a birthday, never, but it seems he does forget names.

He's too busy placing the other men in his mind to wonder over what the combination of that bright smile and one of Roger's old crewmembers might mean, but he's got an inkling, and it's interesting.

The other four men he defienitely knows the names of. They are all former Whitebeard Pirates and his heart aches a bit at the same time that it does a jump when he sees them. They are family after all. He could never forget these people, nor could he forget their names, or even nicknames. There was Tommy the Pony (don't ask, they were very, _very _drunk when the name was come up with, but it stuck), Weird Al (Thatch's heart aches a bit extra when he sees the man who had once been part of his Division and had died on his watch), the Little Lad (who's actually a rather big and burly man, don't ask about that nickname either) and there was Spitfire Dai, the old Second Division Commander. A warm wave of nostalgia washes over him when he sees all the familiar faces but is soon followed by a wave of longing for the family left behind.

"Commander Thatch!" Al is the first to cry out, soon followed by Dai's call of "Thatchy!" while Tommy the Pony waves in greeting and Little Lad - who is a silent and strong type of guy - just quirks his lips in welcome.

Thatch secures the oars to ensure that they don't float off with practiced ease before lifting both of his arms to wave enthusiastically in response.

"Missed me?" he calls, surpressing the waves of emotions washing over him.

"God, yes!" calls Al. Thatch knows that Division Commanders are important, knows that when in battle the one thing that can save you if you get in trouble isn't luck or anything like it, but your Division Commander, a responsibility he takes - _took_, he reminds himself - more seriously than most other matters. Therefore it makes him glad to know that Al doesn't blame him for his untimely death.

"Not at all!" Dai shouts jokingly. It's good to see him again. If one was looking for an interesting conversation Dai was always the one to go to. While usually calm the younger man could become a real spitfire - thus the nickname - if one pushed the right buttons and had a sense of humour that could easily be turned into scorn but never did.

"It's impossible to find someone who's as fun to drink with as you around here!" is Tommy's answer while Lad keeps as silent as usual. Thatch silently agrees. While he has met some truly great and interesting people through the years not one of them is as fun to drink with as Tommy, apparently the feeling is mutual. Thatch laughs at them all, he has certainly missed them.

He brings his skiff up to the side of the ship and Little Lad (who's real name is Baruki Conroy) throws him a ladder to climb up. Thatch grabs it and climbs up easily, his body being completely used to the swaying and imbalance of both ropes and ships.

As soon as he sets foot on the deck they're upon him, Dai dunking his back and Tommy patting the other side (albeit just as hard as Dai's dunking) while Al grabs his hand to shake it in welcome and more of the crew - who turns out to be more of his old brothers and sisters - crowd around to greet him.

He focuses on the family surrounding him and a smile spreads across his face. The part of his family who are still alive will grieve for a while, but they will eventually join him, and until then he has the rest of his family to keep him company.

He feels a weight on his shoulder and glances questioningly to Dai, whose hand has moved from Thatch's back to grip his shoulder tightly. His face has gone serious and he meets Thatch's eye with a worried look in his own. He opens his mouth and speaks.

"Thatch… how did you die? Should we be expecting any more to follow?" he asks worriedly. Thatch immediately understands. Commanders dying is a rare occasion and the younger man is no doubt remembering his own death, a battle with a Marine Admiral that hadn't only killed him, but twenty more of their fellow siblings.

He shakes his head.

"I don't think so. I was stabbed in the back…" he trails of to take a deep breath, "by Teach."

Dai's eyes widen. He knew Teach, the man having been one of his subordinates. Teach had been with them nearly twenty-five years now, twenty when Dai had died, the notion that he would betray them - that any Whitebeard Pirate would - sounded ridiculous.

"Te-Teach?" he chokes out at last, "Ho- why?!" he asks in disbelief. The rest of the former Whitebeards had quieted down at seeing their Commander in such shock, but Thatch doubted that all of them had heard why, if their confused expressions were to go by.

"I'd found a Devil Fruit, I hadn't eaten it yet - was planning to sell it - I was out on the deck in the rain in the middle of the night, and suddenly I felt something pierce my back, I think he severed my spinal cord. He laughed, _laughed, _Dai, and then he told me all about how he'd joined Oyaji with the goal of finding that fruit and wasn't planning on staying a moment longer. Then he took off, I think he stole one of the lifeboats." Thatch explains, his voice, as well, tinted in disbelief.

There was no doubt that they all had heard him this time. A silence swept over the crowd, broken only by other crewmates he didn't know working and the cries of seagulls from up above. Dai had gone pale and was staring into the distance with glazed over eyes while the rest of the former members of the Second Division were shaking their heads in disbelief or staring at Thatch with the same shock he had felt when it happened.

"That bastard," Conroy says at last, breaking the shocked silence with his deep voice, "he was our comrade for years, not once believeing in us the way we did him?" he shakes his head sadly, "he's a disgrace of a pirate," he finshes, voicing everyone's thoughts. A murmur of agreement goes through the crowd while Dai, as well, breaks out of his daze.

"When he dies I'm gonna beat him into a bloody pulp, Reaper rules be damned, but until then it will do us no good dwelling on it. Meanwhile, how about we get you settled in and caught up on the rules, Thatch?" he says resolutely. The sound of their Commander taking charge again got everyone back on track. It is rather obvious to Thatch that Dai hasn't stopped being Commander just because he's dead. He's been commanding these people despite there being another Captain on this ship because these men and women are children of Whitebeard, and they do not fully follow the orders of anyone but their father or Commanders.

Thatch nods in answer, glad to hear that he hasn't made any permanent damage on the mood. Just as the crowd has started dispersing in order to return to their assigned tasks a voice cuts Dai short of leading Thatch to the bunks.

"Actually, Dai, would you mind if I explained his new situation to your friend?" the voice feels somewhat familiar and Thatch finds out exactly why when he turns around and faces the Pirate King himself.

Dai looks slightly reluctant to leave but doesn't argue, even though he is the one who commands the former Whitebeards it would seem he does have a rather high degree of respect for Roger, something Thatch understands. He tells Thatch that he'll show him around later and takes his leave.

"Welcome to the afterlife, friend," Roger says and grins at him. There is something oddly familiar about the the expression that doesn't come from having met the man before, a fact which Thatch stows away carefully in his mind for later examination.

"Thanks," Thatch says, scratching the back of his head. Before he has had the chance to say anything more Roger speaks again.

"I suppose that you're another one of Newgate's brats?" barely waiting for the nod of confirmation he ploughs on, "I think I recognise you, though I can't say that I recognise the hair," he comments, an amused but teasing expression on his face.

Thatch laughs. "Yeah, I'm Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander. And I guess you wouldn't, it's something I picked up... oh, sixteen years ago," he answers, then his eyes widen and he blanches, "shit, I'm old!" Roger just laughs loudly at him.

"The realisation never ceases to surprise, I'm supposed to be in my sixties myself," he pats Thatch's back before making a gesture to follow him.

"So, Thatch, do you know where you are?" Roger asks in a business-like tone, but with his usual grin in place. It's really beginning to bother him that he can't seem to figure ot where he's seen it before.

"...the afterlife?" it comes out more like a question than anything.

"Well yes, but that's very unspecific. To be more specific, you are currently aboard my Waiting Ship, _The Lovely Rouge_," he says the name with a strange sense of pride in his voice. Thatch has heard many Captains talk about their ships fondly, but this seems to be directed more to the name in itself than the ship.

Roger then proceeds to explain how this world works, how this is a Waiting Ship, where seamen waits for their loved ones or stay while deciding what to do in afterlife. How there are different ships for different kind of people, pirates, merchants, marines, all kinds of sailors and people who've devoted their lives to sea. He explains how the Waiting Ships are the only places you can enter without consequence and leave whenever you like. How the 'Reapers' - the ones who created and run this place - are very strict and unfamiliar with fickleness. Once you've made a decision you stick by it, according to Reapers. Therefore you will be stuck in the next place you step foot after you've died if you haven't made a decision. The decision can be anything, Roger explains, joining a crew, waiting for your comrades, setting off on your own or even sticking to land. As long as your mind is made up about where you want to go you can do _anything_. Thatch listens patiently as Roger explains, finding that he doesn't have anything that needs clarified. Roger however _does _have a question.

"Are you proud of that scar?" he asks, motioning to the crescent moon shaped scar on the left side of Thatch's face. He knows many people who are ashamed of scars they have, but it's still a bit of an odd question. Thatch raises an eyebrow but answers anyway:

"Yes, I am. I got it protecting my nakama, it has never given me an ounce of shame because every time I see my reflection it reminds me that I am capable of keeping them safe."

Roger nods in approval before diving into another explanation. He explains how the Reapers do want the best for the humans in their care and therefore patch up any unwanted wounds and scars as well as reverting the humans to their prime ages again when they die. How they do it is however beyond human understanding Roger says with a laugh and Thatch suspects that he might be missing out on an inside joke. When he's finished a question pops into Thatch's head.

"Dai said something about the Reapers' rules when he said he'd beat up Teach, what did he mean by that?" he asks curiously.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked! You see the Reapers have certain rules, and the most important and prominent one is that you shouldn't deliberately try to kill someone. It's nearly impossible to kill someone here in the first place, so actually managing to do it is a sin punishable by being taken from this paradise of a sea and exposed to your worst fear or some similar hell like place. Beating someone up isn't as grave, but you will still be punished, just not for all eternity. That's a fair warning for you." Roger explains patiently. By the end Thatch nods in understanding. These Reapers aren't ones to mess with by the sound of it.

By now they have walked almost all the way around the ship, coming to a stop on a lower deck that looks more like a garden than anything else. It is crowded by flower beds, bushes and even trees. He'd never seen anything like it on a ship before. In the middle of it all stands a woman with her back turned to them, watering pot in hand. She has strawberry-blonde hair cascading down her back in ringlets and a gardening hat on her head. When she turns around at the sound of of them approaching he is hit by another wave of familiarity. He is certain that he has never met the woman before - he'd remember a face like that, no doubt - yet there is something about her that reminds him of someone he knows. She smiles softly at them and puts down her pot.

"Another new one?" she asks. her voice is soft and melodious and manages to sound like the soft a rippling of a water surface when a water drop hits.

"That's right," Roger answers, coming to stand next to the woman, "he's another one of Eddie's brats," he tells her, then he turns to stand in just the right position to make introductions.

"Rouge, this is Thatch. Thatch, this is my wife, the real lovely Rouge," he says proudly, like he can't believe that she's actually his. That explains the name of the ship at least.

"Nice to meet you, Thatch," the Pirate King's wife says, slipping off one of her gardening gloves to shake his hand. When she steps back to stand next to Roger again something hits Thatch like a bludgeon to his head. He suddenly know why they feel so familiar, why he has seen their smiles and Roger's eyes and Rouge's freckles before. He has seen them on Ace. These people are Ace's _parents_.

"Huh," he says out loud, "I'd never have guessed… that you'd be Ace's parents." The reaction he gets is strong, as he should've expected. Roger's eyes widen and his jaw drops while Rouge's hands fly to her mouth. She hastily lowers them again however to take a step forward and ask;

"You… you know him? You know Ace?" she says carefully, like she's scared of the answer.

Thatch nods proudly, "He's one of my best friends, one of my brothers," he states resolutely. Rouge's face breaks out into a wide smile. She takes his arm and guides him to a white, spindly garden table under one of her largest trees and sits him down on a chair. She takes the one opposite him herself while Roger - who followed as if second nature to him - takes the one next to her.

"Please, tell us about him," she requests politely, but there is something about the tone of her voice that leaves no room for arguments. Thatch doesn't mind though, instead he launches into the tale of how Ace defeated their now-ally Douma the Bohemian Knight. The proud parents are both excellent listeners - or at least when it comes to stories of their son - and Thatch ends up returning to the alcove under the tree most days for the coming months, sharing and listening to tales about the sea.

It continues this way until one day his brothers and sisters who are supposed to be alive start arriving in dozens. When Ace arrives he's silently glad that he didn't tell _every _single story he knows, Ace needs something to talk about, too, after all. Then Oyaji arrives and they all take off with him on _Moby Dick II_.

It's not, however, the last time he sees his new acquaintances. After all, Whitebeard is quite fond of his old rival and they meet up for a drink at least every other month.

This is the way Thatch spends his afterlife, sailing with his father, brothers and sisters, drinking, partying and getting into a shipload of trouble. He has never been happier than the day Marco arrives and his family is once again complete. Then Thatch is completely content in death.

**AN: There we are! A bit longer than usual to make up for last week. Along with a lot of exposition, I felt the need to clarify some stuff. Also I'd like to say thanks to Haurvatat for letting me borrow her interpretation of Thatch in '100 Days of Ace Being a Buttwipe' (it's a great read, I'd recommend it) for a bit. Thanks to GuestGal as well for pointing out a mistake about the time Teah and been with the crew, it's now been fixed!**

Next up: Zoro


	9. Zoro

**Zoro**

When Zoro dies he is fifty years old. He's not particularly upset about it. After all, he had accepted death the moment he decided to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. As a matter of fact he's rather pleased with how his life turned out. He accomplished his dream and he sailed under the greatest pirate yet; the Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy.

When he dies it has been almost exactly five years since Luffy died and Zoro is starting to feel bored. Without Luffy around to cause ruckus, new and interesting enemies to fight or even a dream to fulfill he doesn't do much more than sleep and drink. Everything else is done for the sake of survival alone, like eating. He has - to his own great regret - started to miss the Shit Cook's cooking. Compared to the food he usually consumes in run-down bars he's willing to admit to himself that it actually is real gourmet food. This is one of the reasons he'd enjoyed himself so much the last time they all met up. They don't do it often, but at least twice a year the old Strawhats take the time to meet up and have a party. They usually do it in Arabasta - as to include Vivi, who can't leave her Queenly duties behind to party with them - other times they've gone to Sakura Kingdom so Chopper won't have to be away from his potential patients too long or to Elbaf to meet Usopp's giant friends. He enjoyed those times more than he would usually expect, having missed his friends despite himself.

When he dies, however, he is alone. Or as alone as you can be when you're faced with an armada of New World Pirates. Some pirate or other had been offended when Zoro had happened to slice his way through one of his fleets in defense of a small island in Paradise. Just as he is leaving the island - where he had been honored for days on end with massive parties - when he - in his simple skiff - is confronted by an armada of men strong enough to survive the New World. Zoro has long ago learned not to get in over his head - and he knows that facing strong men in this quantity would be doing just that, even if he is the World's Greatest Swordsman - but he does so anyway. He's not sure why, it might be that he's just too bored to do else.

He fights fiercely until the very end and by the time the fight is over over half of the New World Pirate's ships have sunk, his own included. The man sank to the bottom of the sea, being a Devil Fruit User. Zoro himself has acquired a number of lethal wounds during the fight, one of which is a rather huge hole through his chest made by a cannon ball when he wasn't quick enough to dodge. After all, he's not as young as he used to be, despite what he might think.

The battle itself is one that goes down in history as one of the bloodiest battles fought in Paradise yet and when the story is told one alwaysspeaks of how the armada of a thousand warriors retreated in the face of the Greatest Swordsman in the World. Zoro is depicted as a sort of hero in the story - despite being a pirate himself - as he had valiantly defended the tiny island until the very end. The island is never attacked again for fear of the spirit of a man of the sea with a head covered in grass in swords steeped in blood who's said to haunt the water's surrounding it.

Zoro doesn't know that though. No, he just knows that the blood flowing from his wounds is more than has ever escaped him before, and his head is starting to feel very fuzzy, the way it always does when he loses too much blood. This time, however, he knows that it's final. There's no Chopper here to patch him up this time, and he knows instinctively that not even Chopper would be able to fix this.

His vision is hazy and he doesn't think he'll last much longer. He remains standing though, arms crossed and swords at his side, similar to the time he faced Kuma and offered up his own life in exchange for his Captain's. He stays like this as he slips away into the waiting arms of death.

The darkness surrounding him is familiar. This particular one is one he's experienced many a times after or during battle, but always left soon enough to return and wake in the sickbay or a similar place with Chopper hovering above him worriedly accompanied by most of his friends. It is the very same darkness that has clouded his left eye these last thirty years.

It's quiet as well. There isn't a sound to be heard, not the wind, not the cry of a bird nor cry a human, not even his own heartbeat.

He has no choice but to spend time with his own thoughts and finds himself reliving moments of his life, almost like his life is flashing before his eyes. He'd scoff at the bare thought if he could, but it's rather hard without a corporeal body. He doesn't know how long he spends in the darkness, doesn't particularly care, but it does eventually lift.

When it does he opens his eyes and is almost surprised because he can see. Both his left and right eyes are fully functional and open. He sits up and is assulted by a sudden wave of dizziness beacuse of the sudden change. He hasn't seen out of his left eye in decades, he's nowhere near used to having two eyes anymore. He blinks a few times more to make sure it's real. It feels very odd, but it's something he'll have to get used to, there's no use grumbling about it. It's more of a blessing in a way, really, though he still doesn't believe in god or blessings or whatever it is that as taken him here and given him his eye back.

Instead he focuses on his suroundings, taking them in with all his senses. He notices almost immediately that he's on a boat. He might not've - being as used to the swaying as he is - but he can sense the thousands of fishes and other sea creatures swimming around under him that would be surrounding him instead were he on land. There's an odd lack of Sea Kings, but he blames that on the strangeness of the whole situation. He can smell the sea breeze and hear the waves lap against the side of the boat and he can see, see the clouds in the sky, see the birds and the waves and the small boat in the distance. Having made that discovery he immediately focuses his whole attention on the boat and its single inhabitant. He can spot a blob of red and yellow from his position, but not much more.

He focuses down on his own skiff and isn't at all surprised to find Yubashiri, his dead katana, at his side. After all, if he's dead it would make sense to be reunited with such a trusty companion, wouldn't it? He's going to have to find two new katana to accompany it, though. He can't revert back to one-sword style. He can't say that he isn't going to miss Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu and Shusui, though. They have been an extension of him for the last thirty years - forty for Wado - and it will probably not feel right without them for quite a while yet.

After that discovery he easily locates the oars in the same place he would've kept them in life. He rows easily and thus closes in on the boat quickly. As he does he realises that the man in the other boat is singing, singing a song he knows with a voice he knows better than anyone's. He almsot rubs his eyes to make sure it's really him, and not just an illusion or dream. Where else would he be able to get his sight back, after all? But something about it all feels too real to be anything other than reality.

He picks up his pace to the point that his muscles bulge, feeling like he's rowing for his life. If it is who he thinks it is, there's no way Zoro is going to make him wait. As he nears it becomes crystal clear that it is who he suspected. In a small gently bobbing rowboat is his Captain, is Luffy.

The man in question is too preoccupied with making sure his interpretation of Bink's Sake is heard for miles around to notice the approaching skiff until it bumps into his own boat, rocking it slightly. He whirls around, always eager for company and adventure - or a fight - and his eyes nearly pop out of his skull when he notices his unofficial First Mate.

"Zoro!" he exclaims, a grin wider than the swordsman has ever seen spreading across his face. He almost flies over the low railings into his nakama's skiff and just like that Zoro finds himself with Luffy wrapped tightly around his torso. And for once, Zoro doesn't mind. Instead he wraps his own arms around his Captain without hesitation.

He's so preoccupied with the hug that it takes him a moment to notice that something is off. While Luffy is holding just as tight as usual, and his grip is just as strong, his arms are only wrapped one single time round him, and he feels oddly… human. He feels like ordinary skin and flesh. The texture of rubber and ability of stretching is gone.

Zoro considers asking about it, but scraps the notion. Luffy will tell him if it's important, simple as that. Besides, the former rubber man doesn't seem very inclined to let go for a while yet, and Zoro doesn't particularly mind it. He has missed his Captain more than he dares admit to himself.

When they finally pull away after a long moment Zoro grins, "Alright, Captain?" he asks.

Luffy just grins back, "Yeah, it's lonely without you guys though," he smiles but Zoro can clearly see that it's been hurting him to be alone for so long.

"Nah, Zoro, do you wanna join my crew?" Luffy asks suddenly, tilting his head.

Zoro raises an eyebrow, "Sure."

"Yosh!" is Luffy's reply to that. He quickly grabs Zoro's hand and drags him over to his own rowboat. Zoro stumbles but manages to catch himself just in time to avoid falling into the water. He curses and settles down on the beam in the middle of the boat while Luffy laughs loudly at him.

"You're funny, Zoro!" the man in question snorts and shakes his head in half-assed denial. He grabs a rope hanging loose from his skiff and ties it to the rowboat, one never knows when one can do with some extra space. When he has done so he takes his time to observe the rowboat.

It's largely empty, but does hold a bag that might be hiding spare clothes - something even Luffy thinks to procure at times - a barrel - presumably containing food, a supply unlikely to last Luffy long on his own, let alone the two of them - a pair of oars and a pipe, resting innocently against the beam Zoro is sitting on.

Catching his mildly curious look Luffy explains:

"There are no Devil Fruits here, so I had to relearn how to fight. It's going well, my punch is still strong as a pistol," what would've been bragging had it come from anyone else feels more like a simple fact coming from Luffy, "but having a weapon can be useful sometimes, for reach, so I found a new pipe." Zoro idly wonders over the word 'new' and where Luffy would ever have used a pipe before, but doesn't ask.

Luffy plops down on the floor of the boat and leans his back against Zoro's beam, and after a moment Zoro joins him, leaning back. They stay like that for a long time, simply enjoying each other's prescence in companionable silence. Luffy being silent is usually a rarity, but between the two of them words are rarely needed. The silence is only broken when Luffy occasionally points out a funny cloud that looks like meat or some other kind of food. They don't share any stories of their time apart. That time doesn't matter any more, the past is the past and all that jazz. Now that they're back together they're gonna have better adventures anyways, even Zoro is sure.

At one point Luffy turns his head towards Zoro and simply says;

"I missed you."

When he does it finally hits Zoro what is happening. It comes crashing donw on his head like a a brick. He's dead, but that's not it. Luffy is here, right next to him, in the flesh. When he does his eyes water and he blinks it away annoyedly, but doens't protest when Luffy turns his gaze back to the sky and grabs his hand. Words aren't needed anymore.

They stay like that until night has fallen and their only light source is the stars and the moon. When they do it is because they both sense something, a big - no, huge - prescence approaching over calm waters. They can hear distant shouts of sailors working a ship. They share a look and a grin before they stand up in unison, ready to face whatever is approaching.

It turns out to be a ship which has sails adorned with a seagull, similar to the ones of the marines. At the helm of the ship stands the form of the former Vice-Admiral of the marines, Dalmatian. He seems to have spotted them and is barking orders at his sailors, no doubt getting them ready for battle.

They watch the approaching ship for a while, bodies thrumming in the anticipation of a fight before Luffy seems to have an epiphany. He slaps his right fist into his other hand and turns to Zoro.

"Ah right, Zoro, we aren't allowed to kill 'em, or beat 'em up too badly, the Reapers will be mad and take us away if we do," Luffy says seriously. It's a clear sign of the gravity of the situation that he doesn't nod along with his words or does anything else silly. Zoro raises an eyebrow in surprise but nods his understanding, Captain's orders are law after all.

When the first cannonball flies it is Zoro who gets rid of it. He feels more agile than he has in years and there is no way he's gonna get any more holes in his chest. He cuts it in half as if it were melted butter and leaves the newer recruits of their enemies baffled. Next both ex-marines and Zoro are treated to a show of Luffy's new style of fighting. One minute he is watching the iron ball sail through the air, and the next the led pipe is in his hands and he swings it with stark accuracy to knock the cannonball off course as if it were a baseball and his pipe was a bat. The ball pierces the hull of the enemy ship and one or two of the sailors panic, but are soon calmed by those who know that no ship of that size could sink because of a single cannonball.

The ex-marines are idiots to think they'd be able to sink the rowboat with cannonballs, Zoro thinks. When the ship is close enough they abandon diverting cannonballs in favor of hand-to-hand combat with the poor sailors. Zoro keeps an eye on Luffy during the whole battle, partially because he can - becasue he's got two again - partially because a small part of him fears that it might just be a hallucination, and partially beacause he's curious. He's curious about Luffy's new fighting style. He isn't worried that his Captain will be weaker without his fruit, but he's interested in what he would have been like in life, had he not had his Devil Fruit.

He is not disappointed. Luffy isn't so different. His punches fly, his legs kick and sweep and he even bashes his skull against an opponent or two, just like usual, only with a shorter range. But he makes up for it with speed and the help of his pipe, which he handles like one would a bo-staff, but with his own twist. The way he uses it is very similar to the way Zoro has seen Sabo use his own. He briefly wonders if it is something Sabo taught him, or if he's just picked up on his older brother's moves over time as they met up and sparred or fought marines.

Luffy doesn't fight a single swordsman during the entire battle, however. Zoro knows that it isn't because he is incapable of doing so, he just chooses to leave them to Zoro, who always takes care of anyone aiming at his Captain's back. At the same time he knows that Luffy is doing the same. It feels good, fighting together again after five long years.

When the battle is over and all ex-marines and saliors are sufficienly knocked out they jump back down to their rowboat and row off, leaving the scene of the battle behind.

After that they continue on into their next adventure. Luffy brings Zoro with him to what he calls the 'Meeting of the Pirate Council' which is really just a bunch of old big-shots drinking together and swappig the occaisonal story. Something which suits Zoro perfectly fine. They meet Kuina one day on a big island with a small town. They battle for six days straight without a winner before the Mayor of the little town has enough and puts a stop to them. They declare a draw and spend the seventh day drinking and catching up during which Zoro tells his childhood friend and rival about Mihawk and Luffy and Kuina speaks of the numerous swordsmen she's fought during her training. She tells him of how she decided that if the world couldn't know her as the World's Greatest Swordsman then the afterlife should. They part ways with the promise of another battle to find out who is the strongest, but none of them really care who is the strongest as long as they meet again, but they don't say that.

It takes thirty-two years before Nami eventually joins them in death and by that time they've had more adventures together than can be counted. After that they welcome the rest of the Strawhat Pirates as they arrive in death until they are back to the way they used to be, together.

And that's the way they continue on, forever.

**AN: There you are! If anyone's wondering what happened to Zoro's body (and katana) then they were recovered by fishermen from the village he saved. They gave him a pirate's funeral and burned his body in the skiff he'd been travelling after going through a procedure with stitching him up and embalming and stuff. They built a shrine in his honor and placed his swords as the centerpiece. They pretty much prayed to him and took care of his katana diligently for maybe a century before a kid with familiar moss-green hair and an affinity for swords was born. They called him the reincarnation of Zoro and he was given the swords as well as trained to use all three of them. He and his descendants became the protectors of the island (not that they had much of a problem with pirates na dother riff-raff, thanks to the 'Spirit of a Man of the Sea With Hair of Grass and Katana Steeped in Blood') and all was well. A while later a kid lacking common sense and caution went into battle was saved by the 'reincarnation' but Wado Ichimonji broke and died in the battle as the opponent was too skilled. It then appeared near Zoro in the afterlife. Later Sandai died as well in a similar incident and appeared before Zoro (the wielder wasn't as lucky or skilled as Zoro and couldn't really handle it as well). Shusui though was used to further protect the village for a long time.**

**Wow that was probably too much, ah well.**

**So, I know that I never mention it, but I do appreciate reviews very very much. I am completely amazed by the amount of reviews, favourites and follows this story has gotten and I am so very thankful. So I wanted to say: Thank You, for all the support you've given me so far, and that goes out ot those who only read and don't review or anything as well, thank you.**

**Those of you who have reviewed know that I answer every single one of them, but I naturally can't respond to guest reviews, so I thought I'd do that here, at the end of the author's note. So here's for all guests so far:**

miranda: Thank you! I am planning a bonus chapter for both for when Ace is reunited with Luffy and one for when he starts getting along with Roger, so it'll definitely happen sometime ;) I'm glad you liked it!

GuestGal: Oh my! I usually do so much research for everything, I can't believe I messed that up! But it's fixed now, thanks to you, so thanks for that.

dark: I have considered doing Teach, but I've come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to do so as I'd probably just end up torturing him or something. There's also the factor that Oda-sensei has released a picture of teach as a child, and judging by that he probably has a tragic backstory we don't know, and I don't feel like I could pull off a chapter with him without knowing that backstory. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a suggestion, though!

Animefan: Like I said earlier, I am planning a chapter for that at some point. When it will be finished and posted I can't tell right now, but there will be one.

**Thanks for reading!**

Next up: Shanks


	10. Shanks

Shanks

When Shanks dies he is sixty-nine years old. He has had a rather brilliant life if he may say so himself. He has lived a life of freedom at sea, sailing both under the best Captain anyone could have and as a Captain himself. He is getting old though, and has long since relinqished his place as a Yonko to the younger generation. Nowadays he rarely does anything but drink and party. But there's no resisting the call of the sea and lure of adventure, therefore he has yet to retire to some paradise-like island to rest his old bones. That might be why he dies.

When he dies he is not alone. In fact, he is far from it, for most of his men - his beloved crew and family - die with him. As he has gotten old he has found that the sea is not the only thing he yearns for, and as a pirate who takes what he wants when he wants it he has thus started making trips to a small island in East Blue to visit a certain bar-keep. It is on one of these many trips that he and his crew are ambushed by an enemy pirate.

In the heat of battle the man brags long and well about how he has studied Shanks 'patterns' for months and decided to lay in wait by the route Shanks is prone to take. Shanks doesn't agree. There is no 'pattern' as to where a pirate goes, or when they do, because they go wherever the sea beckons them, wherever the hell they want. But he resolves then and there that that bastard needs to die. If he knows which route they take he could easily be able to figure out their destination after all, and Shanks can not bear the thought of Makino in danger.

But it seems like Shanks has finally run out of luck. He manages to underestimate his opponent, something he thought he'd learned never to do long ago, and pays the price. The pirate isn't too strong, if he was Shanks would've known, but he is clever - more so than he'd expect from someone so cocky - not overly so however, but enough to not take on a former Yonko without some extra insurance. The pirate brings it out towards the end of the battle when he is on the brink of death, demonstrates his weapon and explains how the next shot will be aimed at the Red Force - where half of the crew is waiting for their Captain to return victorious - if Shanks doesn't give in. He doesn't give up and doesn't give in but when he has stabbed the bastard who dared threaten half of his crew and hurt so many of the rest he hears an odd sound. The now-dead pirate had yet another back-up plan it would seem. The weapon has turned on the ship they are currently on.

The time it takes before they die is just the right amount of time for Shanks to share a look of sorrow and apology with his First Mate and for Benn to raise his hand in turn as if to refuse the apology. The next moment there is a blinding white light that switches into terrifyingly black faster than he can even attempt to blink or shield his eyes.

He can't see, can't hear, can't feel, but he can think. He can only think of what a failure he is, as a Captain and as a lover. He feels the deepest sorrow and guilt for what he has done to his crew. Half of them are dead, his oldest and best friends, gone. He silently grieves for the loss of his family, of Benn, Lucky Roo, Yasopp and of Makino. He'd failed to return to her. She knew what the life of a pirate is like, that he can never make the promise to return to her alive, but he had made that promise he knew he shouldn't make to himself. He had promised himself to return to her. But he had broken that promise. And what an absolute failure of a Captain he is. His job is to make the decisions that are best for his crew, but he's now failed that as well. He tries to lead his mind away from such subjects, lead it to happier times, like those spent in Fuusha with Luffy, Makino and his crew, but it's hard. But still he hopes, hopes that there may be something more, that death is more than eternal darkness, hopes that he will see his crew again, see the Captain again and see Luffy again.

Eventually, though, the darkness lifts and gives way for puffy white clouds and the cerulean sky. He takes a deep, life-giving breath of the salty sea air and smiles through the sorrow. It seems his hopes have paid off. He sits up, rocking the small skiff he woke up in slightly, and looks around. The first thing he spots makes his heart jump happily. Across from him, calmly smoking a cigar - where did he find that? - sits Benn, and surrounding them are maybe a dozen rowboats, all occupied by four or so of his crewmembers.

They cheer when they spot him. Calls like 'boss!', 'thought you'd never wake, boss!' and 'slow as usual, huh Shanks?' echo all around him. Benn chuckles quietly, no doubt at the expression on Shanks's face, and Shanks turns back to him.

"Why aren't you mad?" he asks, bewildered.

"Why would I be?" Benn raises an eyebrow smoothly, as if Shanks is the one being absurd.

"Why wouldn't you? I got you killed! I got all of you killed! It's my job to make the decision that's best for the crew, yet I got you all killed!" he voice is bordering on hysterical as he tried to keep it down, not succeeding very well.

Benn slowly takes the cigar from his mouth and gives him a patient look, "So? We're pirates, we all accepted death the moment we stepped onboard the ship. Besides, look around," he sweeps his free arm around him, "it's a new sea. No regrets and all that." Shanks follows Benn's advice - as he tends to do at times, because whether he wants to admit it or not, Benn is usually right - and looks around. He sees the shimmering expanse of the sea and patient and somewhat amused expressions on the faces of his family. It's a new place, a new chance, but the fact remains.

"I failed, Benn." he says, quietly this time.

"And your point is? You made a mistake. That's human nature. Besides, we always knew you were bad at calculating risks, that's why you have me. Right, men?" Benn's voice is calm and reassuring until the last part, when he raises his voice to be heard properly.

The men cheer again, this time in agreement instead of excitement. Someone who sounds suspiciosuly like Yasopp shouts something about Benn being the brains and Shanks the brawn.

"Second chance. We trust you, Captain." Benn says calmly through the sound of the men's shouts. Then something clicks and Shanks grins. Benn is usually right after all.

"Oi, Yasopp, that's no way to speak to your Captain!" he shouts into the crowd, earning loud laughs and cheers in return, their Captain is back on track after all.

"Didn' doubt ya for a moment, boss," Yasopp says cheekily as he comes gliding by in a rowboat shared with Lucky Roo, "just had to wait for Benn to set ya straight in yer boots first."

"Dahahaha, too right!" Shanks laughs. Suddenly everything feels like it's back to the way it should be. He turns around to attempt to get a grip of how many of his crew are with him and how they are going to reach a shore but spots something unfortunate and unexpected.

The silhouette of a great ship is clearly visible against the skyline in the distance, heading straight toward them. It really ins't the time for a fight, but it might be a good thing, he muses. If they can ambush the ship there is a high possibility that they'll be able to 'liberate' some sea charts and maybe a compass, or a Log Pose if that be the case.

"Ooh, look! We've got company, men!" Shanks orders happily, picking up his oars. This of course prompts the rest of his men to attempt to start rowing at the exact same time, which leads to a long moment of confusion during which they desperately try to untangle their huddle of rowboats until Shanks starts shouting orders for how to sort themselves.

When they eventually extricate themselves from the mess they set off toward the ship in earnest, chatting, laughing and eventually bursting into song. Shanks laughs loudly in between verses, how much does it matter really if they're dead? They are still the same people, still as happy and carefree as ever.

But as they near the ship more and more Shanks comes to realise that he recognises it. It is a ship he never thought he would see again, the Oro Jackson. He can't believe his eyes, maybe the wounds that had earned him his three scars are finally taking their toll on his eye? But when Benn turns around after noticing the widening of his eyes and slowly takes his cigar out of his mouth in a motion Shanks recognises to be one of shock and turns back with raised eyebrows he knows he's not.

"Captain…" he mutters, unconsciously picking up the pace. If it is true… if it's him… he hasn't seen the man he thought of as a father in fifty-four years and he doesn't really know how to react.

He shares a silent look with Benn and finds the answers he seeks there.

"Hurry it up, men! You can't be getting lazy just 'cause you're dead,"

"I thought we were supposed to rest when we're dead?" Yasopp answers. That man is way too cheeky for his own good, Shanks thinks for the umpteenth time as he grins.

"I changed my mind," he says, "now get your lazy asses to work! Dahahaha!" After this order they make quick work of the distance toward the Oro Jackson. At one point Shanks recognises the sound of Gaban informing the rest of the crew of the approaching vessels from the crows nest and grins in rememberance.

When they finally reach the ship Shanks pulls his and Benn's rowboat close to the hull, but far enough away to be spotted by the ones on deck. He can sense the men approaching the railing, sense the familiar presence of power and safety of the Captain and the fond amusement of both him and Master Rayleigh. It brings a wave of nostalgia that washes over him, but it's nothing compared to the warmth in the pit of his stomach when he sees the two look over the railing, of the Captain grins widely and waves in greeting.

"So you've finally arrived, huh? Shanks," he says calmly.

"Seems like it," Shanks answers, almost happy to have died, now that he can finally see his father-figure again.

"Say, kid, do you want to join my crew?" the grin on his face and the nickname is so familiar that Shanks considers it for a long moment before he sees Benn out of the corner of his eye. The man is calm, he trusts whatever decision his Captain makes and that makes Shanks sure of his decision.

"Sorry, Captain, but I've gotta take care of my own crew, it won't do for them to switch Captain. Or what do you say, men?" he shouts over his shoulder while his men shout in agreement. He's not going to rejoin Roger's crew, but he will always all him 'Captain', it's a title he uses the same way someone else would use 'father'.

"Your mind is made up?" at Shanks's nod Roger grins again and, "good. Then how about you and your crew come aboard for a party?"

"Dahahaha! Sure!"

Rayleigh is the one to throw a ladder over the side of the ship for Shanks and his crew to climb up, and after a lot of scuffle they all finallly make it up despite the many boats crowded around the hull.

When the former Yonko steps foot on the ship he is immediately enveloped in a hug by Roger, a hug which he reciprocates with all the might of his single arm. He has missed the Captain far too much these last fifty or so years. When they pull apart Roger keeps a hold of his shoulder and does a quick sweep up and down while Rayleigh dunks his back.

"Man, you've grown! You're as tall as me now," he says, and it's easy to tell that he is reminiscing about days long past, when Shanks was a gangly pre-teen and everyone constantly teased him about how short he was.

"Yeah, I have," he answers, at a lack for anything to say and still a bit awestruck.

"Ray and everyone's told me about what you've been getting up to," Roger starts, "I'm proud of you, kid." He finishes and Shanks has to struggle to not cry when he hears the praise. But he doesn't, even though he knows that it'd be alright, that a man can be strong and still be allowed to cry, but this isn't the right moment for tears of any kind. Instead he grins and asks loudly if they're gonna get this party started anytime soon.

The alcohol is brought out and it doesn't take long before the whole ship-worth of men are singing Bink's Sake as loudly as they can. It's just the right thing to get the party started, and after that they shout and sing and joke and dance drink the day and the night away.

After Shanks has dropped his dark cloak somewhere during a particularly vigorous futterwacken Roger stares at the stump left by his lost arm for a long while. When Shanks eventually mentions it Roger asks if he is proud of his wound. Shanks answers with a certain 'Yes.' and launches into the tale of his 'little Anchor' and the loss of his arm. When he's finsihed with that one he just can't resist telling every story he can remember at the moment of Luffy; of the time he stabbed himself, of the time they went swimming, and of the time he gave the straw hat that is so sacred to them all to the little kid with a big dream. When he does so he admits that his inability to swim wasn't the only reason for Luffy's nickname; he had kept coming back to the same little port town for a whole year, all because Luffy kept him anchored there in a way after all.

When he is finished Roger smiles the smile of a proud father, pats his back and tells him that he's already heard most of the stories from Luffy himself. They end up talking about Luffy and his brother for a long time, both with the air of proud fathers. Shanks wonders briefly if he should feel pushed aside, as a child would when having a younger sibling, but doesn't really, he's happy that Roger is back with his beloved wife and can see his son whenever he wants. This continues until Benn sits down next to them with a tankard of booze in hand and Shanks makes a shocking discovery:

"Benn… your hair is black again!" he exclaims, wide-eyed and wondering how he hadn't noticed earlier.

Benn just stares at him for a moment before smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead, looking like he wonders why he follows such a man. This sparks yet another conversation during which Roger explains everything he knows about the afterlife, from the healing to the rules and produces a timeworn book from his coat that looks suspiciosuly like a manual. He says that The Beginner's Guide to Ferrying Souls will tell Shanks everything he - as a Captain - needs to know about this world. Shanks accepts it with a thanks from one Captain to another.

Most men of the two crews pass out at one point or another during the night and are awakened uncermoniously around noon the next day by their fellow crewmates shaking them awake or throwing cold water over their heads - as the tradition of the Roger Pirates dictates.

When they all have gathered in the middle of the deck Roger hands Shanks two pieces of paper; one with coordinates and a date - the 24th of May - and the other clearly a vivre card. He then tells Shanks to follow the instructions and gives him a mischievous smile before handing him a heap of sea charts and a compass and telling him to be on his way.

However when they look over the side of the ship every single skiff and rowboat have disappeared mysteriously, despite the ship not having moved during the whole night and the sea being calm. But while Shanks is feeling quite distressed Roger just laughs and nods toward the horizon. What had been the sharp contrasts of the blue of the sea against the blue of the sky bare moments before is quickly being swallowed up by a ginormous cloud of mist that is approaching just as fast.

"How big is your ship, Shanks? That's a pretty big cloud," Roger says, seemingly oblivious to the confusion of the rest of them, "seems like it's gonna take a while, too," he states with a pout. His prediction turns out to be wrong, though, for bare minutes later the mist is close enough for them to discern the figure head - a red dragon. When Shanks turns wide eyes on his mentor the man grins and says:

"The ships always come a bit later than the crew, it takes longer to fix them up, you see."

And true to his word, the Red Force emerges from the mist moments later, shining new and with the wind in her sails, sailing perfectly, as if crewed by ghosts.

Shanks smiles, maybe death won't be different than life at all.

**AN: There we go. If anyone's wondering about Rouge then she was visiting Ace for some mother-son time when this took place :P**

**For my guests~**

dark: I'm glad you appreciate it, I love answering reviews~ that's alright, it's very easy making one so it shouldn't be much of a problem for you. When you say wax guy are you referring to Mr. 3 / Galdino? I am planning chapters for both Vivi and Usopp, so you'll be seeing those sooner or later ;)

Anime Fan: Thank you~ :3

**Thanks for reading!**

Next up: Nami


	11. Nami

**AN: A few more curses than normal, you have been warned.**

**Nami**

When Nami dies she is eighty-one years old. Anyone who meets her these days would probably say that she has aged well; she looks more like a sixty or seventy year-old than an eighty year old after all. Her wrinkles are few, most of her hair is still the same bright orange as ever and she can still throw a punch like the best of them, but she is old. She often feels her stiff joints creak and she throws out her hip often enough, but that doesn't stop her from doing what she likes.

She still travels a lot, as the pirate and navigator she is there's no way she'll stop. She makes regular trips between Cocoyashi Village and Alabasta to visit her sister and Vivi respectively and sometimes goes completely off course to visit one of her nakama, usually Chopper or Robin. On the way she often stops at new islands and does a more detailed map of either the surrounding waters or the island itself. There is, of course, no island that is completely new to her, she made a map of the entire world after all, and that includes every island. But there are always new details to find and map out. Nature never rests, something which she has come to appreciate in later years.

She dies in her sleep. The stress of living on the Grand Line, extensive drinking and age has taken its toll on her body and she passes away silently in bed in her big sister's house. It's quite fitting, for her to die in the same place as her mother.

It's strange. Her world shifts from the dark unconciousness of sleep into another darkness. It's quiet and dark, darker than anything she has ever experienced before. It's not the dark of the night, then there is always some kind of light, whether it is the moon and stars or a lonely lantern or a campfire. Neither is it like closing her eyes, then one can always make out a light from behind the eyelids. No, this is different. It's a suffocating black like nothing she has ever experienced before. It's odd as well, how she suddenly becomes so aware when there is nothing to be aware of; no sound, no sight, no taste or smell and no sense of touch. Only thought. It's eerie.

But to her great relief the eerie darkness eventually gives way for the familiar darkness of her closed eyes and she quickly opens them. Her hand flies to cover her eyes and she squints up at the blinding sun. She sits up as her mind automatically catalouges the weather and the impending rain that'll reach her location in about five hours even as she tenses up, ready to deal with whatever crook that has taken her away from her home.

But she finds no-one. She is drifting in a rowboat in the middle of an unknown sea. She presumes that it isn't the Grand Line, as the chance that the wheather would be this good in the Pirate's Graveyard for five hours is infintely small. She turns all the way around to look over her shoulder and finds that it isn't as empty as she thought. Several yards away drifts two small boats, seemingly empty, but the bigger of the two is emitting loud snores she knows. Her face lits up in a smile and she can't belive that she'd missed it.

She locates the oars in her own rowboat and starts rowing backwards towards the two boats. She sticks the oars down into the turqoise water to stop it from gliding past and puts them back down in the boat. She grabs the rope hanging over the side of the smaller of the two skiffs and ties it to her own boat - she wouldn't want it to drift away - and stands up to look over the side.

Warmth blooms in her chest as she looks down on the two idiots snoring away on the bottom of the rowboat. Luffy's dark head is resting on Zoro's stomach with his legs hanging over the railing while Zoro is spread out across the bottom of the boat with his hands behind his head. She's missed those idiots.

She climbs into the other boat carefully as to not wake the two and sits down on the beam toward the stern of the little vessel. Luffy snorts in his sleep but doesn't wake, and as Zoro has proved to be capable of sleeping through snow storms there's no use worrying about waking him. She sits there for a while, watching and reminiscing about days long gone. Usually she would never let them sleep for so long, but it's been too long since she last saw them and if she wakes them she won't get the chance to really look because they'll be caught up in trouble before she has the chance to.

So she sits and she looks, catalogues, memorizes. She notes how much younger they both look since she last saw them, how every every wrinkle seems to be gone from Zoro's face along with Luffy's laughlines. How there is no scar running across Zoro's left eye, and how he still has the scar on his chest given by Mihawk. How the X on Luffy's chest is as prominent as ever, along with with the scar under his eye and the fact that he drools in his sleep. They're almost the same as ever.

She feels quite content sitting there, but her boys are very heavy sleepers and she ultimately runs out of patience. So after trying the gentle approach of shaking them with no luck she wakes them the same way she always does; with a stormcloud over her head and her fists raised.

"WAKE UP!" two satisfying 'BONK's sounds as she smashes her fisted hands onto their respective heads. It's probably becuase they're so empty-headed, Nami thinks smugly. The snot bubble protruding from Luffy's nose pops and he sits up and looks around disorientedly while Zoro rubs the bump on his head for a moment, looking pensive, before he sits up as well.

When Luffy spots her however he leaps to his feet with a shout.

"Nami! How did you get there?!"

"How do you think, dumbass?" she snarks back, but her face is decorated with a bright smile which negates her harsh tone. Luffy's face starts growing red as he thinks hard in silence. Ignoring him Zoro looks up at her with a grin.

"How was the trip to hell, witch?" he asks, the impolite bastard, but he looks like he's rather happy to see her, and she has missed him too, so she'll let him off the hook for now.

"Quite pleasant, thanks," she answers instead of raising his debt or something similar. Just then Luffy hits his fist against his palm and his face clears of redness.

"It's a mystery!" he exclaims happily.

"Luffy, we're dead," Zoro states plainly, as if Luffy routinely forgets about his state of death.

"Right," Luffy nods importantly, then; "eh?! Nami died?!" Nami slaps her plam against her face in exasperation, how could she forget what idiots her friends are?

"Welcome to the afterlife," Zoro says with a grin before he stands up to reach a barrel standing behind him. When Nami sends him a questioning look he grumbles something about breakfast, which has Luffy jumping and cheering immediately, god knows how he'd heard Zoro's mumbling. The boat starts rocking immediately, causing a small wave to crash over the side and rain over Nami's skirt.

"SIT STILL!" she shouts, ramming her fist into his skull.

"Oww, Nami~" Luffy pouts up at her but does as she says and sits down, he can't seem to stop himself from fidgeting in his seat, though. He does so, bouncing surreptitiously in his seat until Zoro hands him a brown paper package that turns out to hold dried meat.

"Meat!" he exclaims and digs in with gusto while Nami shakes her head fondly and Zoro continues to rifle through the back until he comes up with a bottle of sake and settles down. He opens the bottle with his teeth, spits out the cork and takes a deep gulp of the alcohol. Nami stares at him for a moment. The idiot isn't going to give her anything, is he? She clears her throat to gain his attention. He just gives her a sideway glance and half a smirk. She clears her throat again, louder this time and he looks up.

"Sore throat?" he asks. She glares at him.

"You're still impolite, I might be tempted to increase your debt," she says loftily. He raises an eyebrow.

"You don't get hungry within the first days of death, are you hungry?" he asks smugly.

"Hmpf," Nami mutters and glares, but admits to herself that the feeling of being hungry or full, or even tired, is oddly absent. A loud smack alerts her to the fact that Luffy is finished with his 'breakfast'.

"Nami," he says, turning to her with big eyes and an oddly calm smile, "we missed you." He looks so sincere that her eyes water and she smiles back. But of course he's sincere, he's Luffy, and damn she's missed him. She practically flies at him, swaying boats be damned, and within moments she's got him enveloped in a tight embrace. He giggles against her chest and wraps his own arms around her, squeezing tightly. She mumbles words of affection against his head and runs her fingers through his hair, because she can, because he's here.

She looks up for a moment to meet Zoro's eyes - two eyes - and sees his grin for a moment before Luffy makes a quick and strange movement that somehow brings Zoro to his feet and over to join the hug. Zoro mumbles a curse but doesn't protest. It's nice, to feel them both here, surrounding her, in the flesh. For a moment it's perfect, but then someone moves, she can't tell who, it might've been herself, and the boat overbalances and all three of them fall into the sea.

Nami lets out a sharp shout the moment she touches the cold water and inhales a mouthful of water when she goes under. Luckily she's rather excellent at swimming and kicks herself to the surface in time to cough up the salty water and draw a deep breath of air. She looks around for Zoro and Luffy before her mind freezes. Luffy can't swim. She takes another breath and dives under the surface, desperately seeking her Captain despite the sting of sea-salt in her eyes.

She quickly spots the red of Luffy's vest and kicks as fast as she can to reach him. He's flailing in what looks like an attempt to reach the surface. She doesn't have time to think about how strange that is, his fruit has always rendered him slack and paralyzed in water, but now he's kicking for dear life. He's not getting anywhere though, and she reaches out to grab him. She does so moments after Zoro who wraps and arm around his chest with practiced ease and swims with strong strokes towards the surface. Nami does what she can to help even though a part of her brain says that it'd be easier if she didn't help. But she's just found him again, she doesn't want to let go.

They break the surface and Zoro hauls their Captain over the side of the second skiff before giving Nami a hand into the boat and turns back to the capsized rowboat and turns it back over easily. Nami's attention isn't on him however, it is on Luffy who is hacking up water in an attempt to draw breath. She makes it over to him and pats his back to ease the cough or calm him, she's not sure which. She doesn't usually react like this but it has been so long since she last dealt with a situation like this that she feels a bit lost.

Luffy finally stops his hacking and Zoro climbs into the boat almost simultaneously and they both remove their wet shirts. Zoro wrings the water out of his dripping t-shirt and hangs it over the railing to dry. He catches the vest Luffy throws at and gives it the same treatment before he sits down.

"Welcome back," he tells to her.

"Yeah, thanks, Nami!" Luffy says with a sunny smile. She smiles back at them both and sits down on a beam to listen to Zoro as he recites which of their supplies were lost in the capzise. Apparently they're running low on food but the maps and compass made it, something Nami is glad for. The moment she hears this she declares that she'll be in charge of the maps from now on. Neither of her companions protest, happy to leave such assignments with her. This sparks a thought in Luffy and he looks up at her seriously from his place on the floor.

"Nami, will you join my crew?" he asks and gestures to himself and Zoro as if they were many more but she smiles.

"Yes." she answers simply and he beams at her like the sun he is and when he reaches out she takes his hand without question. He guides her down to sit on the floor next to him while Zoro slips down to sit on her other side. She's almost being squished, but she doesn't mind. It feels nice to be near them both again. She's missed them, something Zoro will never say but Luffy will say too much and that's enough for her to know that they missed her too. She'll miss her sister and her friends and nakama still alive, but it's okay, she'll see them again after all.

It takes two years before Usopp arrives in the afterlife and during that time a lot of things happen; they get a new boat, this one a bit bigger and enough to hold all three of them comfortably and not sink in first storm, as Nami suspects they would. Nami experiences her first 'Pirate Meeting' during which she meets quite a few power figures and survives the encounter, much to her joy.

At one point they dock on an island where Luffy immediately runs off into a forest shouting about something called 'Dadan' while Zoro wanders off into town mutteirng about 'Kuina'. It is during this visit that Nami finds her mother again. Both her mother, her sister and Genzo in fact. They are running an Orange Farm together on the island, just as it should be. Many tears are shed along with numerous 'thank you's and 'I'm sorry's. They stay on the island for days and by the end of their stay Nami feels a bit bittersweet to leave her family, but Zoro and Luffy are her family too and that makes it much easier.

She is the navigator of the Strawhat Pirates and not even death can take that away.

**AN: Before you ask; there ****_will_**** be a bonus chapter of Nami's reunion with Bellemere & co. ;)**

**This chapter will put the word count over 30,000, wow. And 40 reviews, over fifty favourites and over 60 follows as well! Thank you!**

**For my guests~**

Dark: It's no problem, to me it's only right to answer the comments of those who've taken the time and effort to both read and review my story, whether thye have an account or not. Plus I love reading and responding to all feedback given to me~ Oh now I remember him! He's the one who made statues of Ace, Izo, Jozu and so on, right? The one whose son made a miniature statue of Whitebeard. It's a very interesting idea! I'll definitely try. I don't know what I'd do with Mr. 3, either xD I'd really like to do Bon-chan, but I have a feeling that he'll be reappering in the future, so I don't want to do it all wrong, but I might though, if I run out of people to do or I get a really good idea for him. Thank you for your review!

**Thanks for reading!**

Next up: Rayleigh

**I AM SO SORRY, I MADE A MISCALCULATION. Next week will not be Law's chapter as I hav realised that with the latest developments in the manga I will not be able to make a proper chapter for him (something I want to do). As such I have no choice but to postpone his chapter. I A**M SO **VERY VERY SORRY TO HAVE MISLEAD YOU.**


	12. Rayleigh

**Rayleigh**

When Rayleigh dies he is eighty-nine years old. He's a damn old man at this point and to him it seems like just the right time. Meeting Luffy and training him to be King gave him the will to live for years more after the loss of his Captain, but it has by now run out. Luffy made it to the top years ago, just as predicted, and it has been nearly half a century since Roger became Pirate King. He has seen the rise and fall of Kings and Kingdoms and he's tired of it. He misses the days when it was easy, when he had yet to lose his Captain - his brother - and when he still had absolute freedom.

He misses being out in the open and fighting marines and enemy pirates when he likes without fear of repercussions, safe in the knowledge that he'll be setting sail with his family when they're done. Now he rarely does much else other than drinking and scamming slave traders. But even his scams have gotten few and far in between, he's far from as young as he was and scamming takes enegry. Therefore he usually stays at Rip-off Bar with Shakky, tending the bar when she makes him and otherwise drinking her supplies.

Sometimes Luffy and his crew stops by and throw a party, as does Shanks with his crew and occasionally even Buggy. But for the most part he and Shakky are alone, supporting their equally unhealthy habits of drinking and smoking.

The day he dies is a calm one. Well… as calm as the mangroves can be. The morning starts off with a minor scuffle - by the citizens of Grove 19 called a fearsome battle - which Rayleigh walks through on his way to Grove 24 for a swim. When he comes back the place is swarming with white-clad marines so he takes another route home, eager for a drink and uncaring of the marine brats.

Walking across Sabaody is, of course, impossible to do without running into trouble, whether one is in the criminal districts or not. Therefore he runs into two separate robbers and one slave trader on his way - all are left knocked out on the side of the stree. When he gets back to Grove 13 and Rip-Off he has a quick drink before Shakky notices him home and puts him to work at the counter. But they rarely get cusomers - mostly because of their prices, but partially because of their location - so Rayleigh spends most of his work time reading the Grand Line Times, chuckling at the sight of the World Government's worries over Luffy and Shanks meeting up.

When night comes around Shakky lets him off duty and he switches places from behind the bar to a barstool. Shakky pours him a shot of whiskey and they talk about nothing through the night. After numerous cigarettes smoked by Shakky and even more refills to Rayleigh's glass they start reminiscing about the past. Four cigarettes, a mug of sake and three shots of whiskey later they decide to retire to bed.

Sleep comes quickly, partially brought on by his many drinks, and he sleeps deeply. So deeply in fact that the progression between sleep and death that is barely noticeable. The change is subtle, he'd barely have noticed at all if it wasn't for the slight change, the feeling of loss and the chill that sweeps over him before everything goes so much darker than before.

He's left feeling oddly bereft when his senses have gone. Even without them he's used to being able to sense what's around him with his Haki, but even that is gone. It is like he no longer has a corporeal body, like his mind is trapped in the dark. It's frightening even to him.

The dark feels suffocating despite him not being able to feel anything. It's like his mind is being swallowed up by the dark. But then it lifts. Light is streaming through his closed eyelids and he can feel the sun warming his skin.

He opens is eyes and immediately reaches towards his scalp but fails to locate his glasses there. Patting down his cloak and trousers he looks around in confusion. Where have the damn things gone now? It takes him a moment to realise that he can see perfectly well without the reassuring weight of his spectacles on his nose. How strange.

A bit of exploring reveals that his body has somehow reverted to the way it was years ago. His hair is shorter and back to blond while his beard is back to black. But he can still feel the strength he'd built years after he'd gone grey, maybe everything isn't back to the way it was, he thinks, slightly smug.

When he focuses away from his immediate vicinity - a small rowboat with nothing but himself and a pair of oars in it - he notices the huge ship bobbing on the waves not far away. The ship is big and sturdy, made up of a dark wood - possibly oak - and is crowned by a flag with the crossbones of a Jolly Roger and an hour glass. The words The Lovely Rouge are carefully written on the side of the ship. Rayleigh knows the name, Rouge is the name of a woman he'd only met thrice, a woman that Roger had loved more than his own life.

The notion makes anticipation like he hasn't felt in a long time swell in his chest. Only Roger would name a ship that. And if it is so… then Roger must be on that vessel. The thought of seeing his brother in all but blood again makes a gentle smile spread across his face. It has been so long, he's waited so long.

He picks up the oars and rows towards the ship. He hears a man who sounds suspiciously like Scopper Gaban declare something like 'We've got another one!' from the crows nest and speeds up his pace. He hasn't felt this impatient in a long, long time.

When he reaches the ship the railing is already crowded with people, some he knows and some he doesn't. He recognises the big shape of Seagull behind the crowd and spots Crocus's flower adorned head at the front. And in the middle of it all is Roger with his wide grin and bigger moustache. Next to him is a woman with strawberry blonde hair who can be no one but Rouge.

"Isn't anyone going to throw me a rope?" he shouts up at them. Roger chuckles and his eyes shine brightly as he throws a rope ladder over the railing.

"Good enough, old friend?" he teases. Rayleigh doesn't answer, instead he grabs the ladder and swiftly climbs up the side of the ship and over the railing, landing on deck. He stands there for a moment, observing the people as they do him before Roger has enough of the silence - as he usually does - and breaks it.

"It's good to see you, Ray," he says and he grins and then they suddenly have their arms around each other. They have very rarely - if at all - hugged before this, but now it feels right. They have been apart for such a long time that he's almsot forgotten what it's like. He doesn't notice the tears forming in his eyes until one of them slips past his eyelids and down his cheek.

"How have you been, my friend?" Roger asks, even though he surely knows that it's been too long for a simple answer. Despite this Rayleigh still croaks out a vague 'fine' even though he really hasn't been most of the time. He's been alright, and there have been moments when he's almost been good, but it has been so very hard without his best friend.

They part soon and Roger doesn't mention it if there's a tear track or two on his friend's cheek, nor does Rayleigh mention the ones on Roger's.

"You've taken your sweet time, Ray, we were beginning to think that Death had forgotten about you," he jokes and dunks Rayleigh's shoulder with his usual big grin.

"I had to make sure that coming generations weren't completely messed up," Rayleigh answers and his eyes crinkle with vague laugh lines when he smiles. Roger laughs and starts to say something more but is interrupted by the clearing of a throat. He turns his head to the side and comes face to face with his wife who is watching him amusedly.

"Maybe you should explain some basics, dear? Or wait for Rayleigh-san to get settled in a bit before catching up, hm?" she says sweetly and it seems to mean something more to Roger because he seems to remember something he'd long forgotten when his mouth forms a srprised O. Ignoring her husband's surprise Rouge turns to Rayleigh and gives him a dazzling smile, "It's good to see you again, Rayleigh-san," she says.

"And you're a sight for sore eyes, Miss Rouge, beautful as ever," he smiles and kisses her knuckles. Roger - as expected - reacts.

"Oi! No flirting with my wife," he says with a mock glare and a false bite in his voice as he places a possessive arm around Rouge's waist while she smiles up at him. Rayleigh just chuckles and Roger grins back after a few moments. Then Roger puts his business face on, and Rayleigh knows that now is the time to listen properly (not that he wouldn't have anyways, but this is serious).

"I've been the Captain of this Waiting Ship for a long time," normally Rayleigh might've commented on the name of said ship, but not now, "We're all waiting for someone, even I am, or was. Y'see I was waiting for you, old friend, and now that you're here it's time for me to move on to the next phase. If you'll join my crew that is." The question is ridiculous because there shouldn't even be a question. Rayleigh has waited just as long as Roger, after all.

"You're being stupid, Captain," he says, and apparently that's a good enough answer for Roger because he grins and slings and arm around his first mate's shoulder.

"Well then, I've made a decision," for some reason he feels the need to shout this out into the air, looking a bit loony as he does. Rayleigh sighs exasperatedly, but fondly, he'd forgotten how crazy his Captain can be at times. But it soon becomes apparent that Roger knows what he is doing when a figure dressed in a cloak the same dark as the one he'd just experienced appears in the middle of the deck.

"Cloakie! Good to see you, pal!" Roger exclaims.

"My name is Frank," the figure - Frank apparently - says with the annoyed voice of someone who is very tired of repeating themselves. "So you've finally decided to move on, human?" Frank asks and Roger nods smugly.

"Have you chosen a successor then?" he continues in a voice made up of a mix of boredness and grumpiness. Roger nods decidedly and turns towards the crowd of crewmen who've gathered around them.

"Where've you gotten to, Nick?" he shouts over the crowd. The crew reacts as soon as he's said this, obviously understanding the implication. One gasps and another one cheers, someone in the back is shouting congratulations while someone else is glaring and another is growling even. Then a short and slightly rotund man breaks out of the crowd and comes to stand before Roger.

"Yes, Captain?" he's calm but he looks hopeful.

"Would you like to take over this ship, friend? I would ask you to join my drew, but I've a feeling that you want to keep waiting for your real Captain."

"That's right, Captain. I would, Captain." Nick says.

"Go-" Roger starts to speak again, but is interrupted by a man from the crowd.

"Now wait here just one moment!" an unpleasant looking man with small pig-like eyes shouts. "Why him? Why not me? I'd make a much better Captain than Nicholas," he spits the name like it's a curse. The man called Nicholas stiffens slightly and Roger's grin becomes strained. This is obviously not the first time the other man acts up like this.

The two opt to ignore the man, something which makes him even angrier. His right hand lands on a revolver strapped to his waist and he has almost drawn it when Frank interfers.

"And what exactly...are you intending to do with that gun of yours?" he asks in a deadly voice, a stark contrast to his earlier grumpy demeanor. The man glares right back and draws his weapon for real.

"I'm gonna become Captain of this ship, that's what I'm gonna do! And you and your stupid rules can't stop me!" he shouts manically. Then a shot rings through the air and a bullet rushes from the barrel of the gun and right into Frank's dark cloak. For a moment not a sound can be heard. Then Frank moves and the rage is visibly rolling off of him with every movement.

"Lay down your weapon," Frank orders, looming over the poor man.

"Maestro, do what he says," Roger orders harshly from behind, "you've already sinned enough, if you do what he says you might not end up in whatever hell they can can up with forever."

"Like hell I am! I'm a pirate. I can do what I like, especially with my weapons. Forty-one years I've traveled with you, following your orders, and I'm sick of it. I want to be Captain," if not for the rage on the man - Maestro's - face and the gun in his hand it all would've sounded more like a petulant child having a tantrum. As it is he's armed and slightly dangerous, and they all know it. Rayleigh hears a man in the back of the crowd mumbling about him finally having snapped.

"You have made a decision." Frank declares and sweeps a cloaked arm over the madman. He vanishes into the dark of the cloak, muffling his every sound.

"He will see punishment," Frank says and sweeps over to Roger, "You have made a decision as well?" Roger is visibly tense and his jaw is clenched, but he doesn't argue about Frank taking Maestro away. He nods and looks up into whatever is under the cloak.

"It's time for us to go," he says. Frank inclines his head and steps towards the railing. He raises his arm, completely covered by his dark cloak, and a sound like someone clicking their fingers echo around. At once fog starts rolling in over the horizon, steadfastly approaching them. Roger grins and approaches the railing, dragging Rouge with him with one hand and grabbing Rayleigh's elbow with the other. They stand as close as they can to the railing and the rest of the crew starts gathering around them.

"Watch this, Ray, this is the good bit," he says excitedly. Following his Captain's lead Rayleigh does so and watches the cloud of fog closely. It is now much closer than it was a minute ago. He wonders what might be about to happen when three figure heads break through the fog and a ship follows out. His eyes widen in shock as he watches the ship he never thought he'd see again. The Oro Jackson.

Next to him Roger is beaming and he hears Gaban chuckling loudly in the background. In this moment he feels absolutely fantastic. They board the familiar ship and start getting reacquainted with the vessel that sailed to the end of the Grand Line. Roger and the others of their former crew takes farewell of Nicholas and the other men and women on the 'Waiting Ship' as Roger calls it and invite anyone who likes to join the Roger Pirates. Some join and some don't, many have gotten used to being under Roger's command and want to continue being so while others will continue waiting for their loved ones.

Frank leaves as soon as they cast off from The Lovely Rouge with the promise of punishment for Maestro, something that makes Roger neither pleased nor displeased. After that they throw a great big party to celebrate the reforming of the Roger Pirates and drink and sing well into the night. Roger explains a lot of things, like how Frank is what they call a 'Reaper' and how strict the Reapers' rules about weapons and violence are along with many other things about this world. They catch up and share stories from their time apart. Rayleigh speaks of Luffy and the War of the Best while Roger tells him of his many run-ins with Whitebeard and Ace.

They sail on and they meet new people and old friends and have new adventures. They are together and they are home.

**AN: Once again, so sorry about Law. I hope you enjoyed Rayleigh though!**

**Thanks for reading!**

Next up: Usopp


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